Protection
by rosekatxo
Summary: AU from S19 E22 'Other People's Dreams' onwards. After an incident at work, Jac and Jasmine become closer and attempt to navigate their newfound relationship, as they find out what it means to be sisters.
1. Chapter 1

**AN/ So basically, I absolutely adore the dynamic between Jac and Jasmine and I'm desperate for them to make up! I've only seen the odd fic involving them so I thought I'd give it a go, I have a lot of headcanons and ideas about them in my head. This is my first time writing these characters so apologies if you find them OOC or anything! Constructive criticism is always welcome and reviews would make this girl v happy. Hope you enjoy! (p.s. Elise this is for you x)**

 _CT Consultant: Jac Naylor_

Jasmine sighed. That was the last thing she needed. A whole afternoon of being bossed around and undermined in theatre by Jac, who'd no doubt do everything in her power to make sure she screwed up drastically. She was already unsure if she was ready for such a prestigious op, let alone with her sister breathing down her neck just waiting for her to slip up. That would give her yet another excuse to try and get rid of her, tell her she didn't belong here, remind her she'd never be good enough. And Jasmine was already exhausted, beyond anything she'd ever experienced before. The past few weeks had been some of the toughest of her life – emotionally, physically, mentally. Elinor's death had kick-started a spiral of destructive behaviour from Serena, the brunt of which Jas had taken without complaint, but the events of the previous week had left her more vulnerable than she cared to admit. The tension had been building and building, and suddenly the older woman had lashed out at Jas in a moment of weakness.

'Why, WHY are you still here, and she's not?!'

She'd never forget the way those words had made her feel. Her already fragile heart splintered into two – Jas had suffered many a heartbreak and loss in her time, but she couldn't remember ever feeling quite as hurt as she had in that moment. She knew Serena was just lashing out, knew she was displacing her grief and anger onto the young doctor, knew she didn't really mean those words, but deep down she felt like she deserved them. Deep down she held herself wholly responsible for what happened, and nothing would make that go away.

Her mentor had apologised, of course, and Jas had graciously accepted, not wanting to cause more of a fuss. She'd all but begged Serena to carry on mentoring her – determined to make her proud, to make up for her fatal mistake. But even though the pressure had disappeared from her senior's perspective, Jasmine felt it more than ever. She was working herself into the ground and she knew it, yet somehow she could do nothing to stop it.

She felt oddly distant from it all, really; like she was watching someone else drowning and not knowing how to breathe.

Three sixteen-hour shifts in a row had alarmed Serena enough to send her home, but the F1's stubborn streak had led to her taking to the on-call room to study instead. She knew she was out of control, but the urge to prove herself was eating her alive so onwards she pushed. Morven had tried to warn her already about how dangerous it was to work on just an hour's sleep, but she'd ignored her friend's caring remark – she could sleep when she was dead, she told herself. First she had to prove her worth.

Jas mulled over the proposition as she scanned the theatre plan. She really wasn't feeling on her A-game today, far from it, but when would she next get an opportunity like this? This might be her only shot, and she'd be damned not to take it. Yes, she felt unprepared and wary. But if Serena believed in her enough to want her there, maybe she _was_ capable of pulling it off? Plus, it would be her best chance at getting Jac on side. She could blow her sister's expectations, prove to her that she's worthy of being a doctor here, make her realise how much she'd doubted her. Show Jac Naylor that little Jasmine Burrows, the half-sister whose life she seemed intent on making a living hell, was a worthy doctor after all.

She glanced back over at Serena, a wry smile appearing on her face. It was time to show Holby that Jasmine Burrows was here to stay.

Jac couldn't quite believe what she'd just been told. Serena Campbell, who only a week beforehand had accused her F1 of killing her daughter, had invited said doctor to take part in the biggest op the hospital had seen in months. The redhead supposed they must have kissed and made up by now, but she still wasn't happy with the clinical lead's decision. As much as she loathed to admit it, a part of her did care about Jasmine and no matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise, it wouldn't leave. At first she'd wrongly believed her half-sister to be incompetent, annoying and generally an awful person – she'd grown up with Paula, after all. But since the incident with Elinor, Jac hadn't been able to stop herself from keeping an eye on the blonde whenever she could. She'd known the pressure must be getting to Jas when the younger woman had sought her help, and though she tried to pretend she found Serena's schemes amusing the consultant couldn't deny the pang of concern she felt.

And then there'd been the events of last week… Jac definitely hadn't expected to run into her sister in the corridors in such a state, and the overwhelming urge to protect the younger girl after their encounter had knocked her for six. She hadn't let it show in public of course - everybody knew Jac Naylor didn't do empathy - but something inside her had snapped, and the next thing she knew she was in Hanssen's office making a complaint against Serena Campbell on her sister's behalf. If the CEO had been shocked by her outburst, then he'd hidden it well – but Jac got the feeling he'd been expecting it sooner or later. He knew that underneath the frosty exterior she had a heart of gold, and he also knew that Jac needed her sister, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself.

It wasn't the thought of sharing theatre space with her sister that had Jac worried. In fact, she knew Jasmine was a better doctor than she'd given her credit for. But in her opinion, this was a step too far on Serena's behalf – Jas was an F1 who'd already made one too many mistakes, and the consultant knew that far more experienced surgeons than her would be wary of such a daunting procedure. The girl wasn't ready for this. Plus, she'd caught a glimpse of her sister the previous day and noted how worn out the young doctor looked. There was no way she was in the right frame of mind to pull this off, but Jac knew any attempt she made to discuss the matter would be misinterpreted as her trying to undermine the junior.

The door swung open loudly, and Jac raised her head to see Jasmine enter the ward, clutching what she assumed must be the theatre plans tightly in her palm. The F1 seemed distant and lost in her own thoughts, so the elder took the opportunity to glance at her sister. A frown began to form across her face as she took in the dishevelled blonde hair that looked as though it hadn't seen a brush in days; the unnatural pallor of her skin that almost rivalled her own in paleness; the dark circles under her eyes that stood out against her weak complexion; the vacant look in them, as if all the spark had gone. All of a sudden Jas's eyes snapped up to meet hers and Jac immediately looked away, hoping nobody had noticed her staring at the girl she was supposed to hate.

'Theatre plans, on Ms. Campbell's orders,' the junior muttered, haphazardly placing the papers on the desk. Jac nodded her thanks as she studied her sister, realising she looked even worse in close proximity.

'Are you okay?' she ventured. There was a tone of something in her voice that the blonde couldn't quite make out, causing her head to snap up from where she'd been staring at the ground.

'I'm fine,' she said defiantly. In all honestly, she felt dreadful but there was no way she'd admit that to the head of CT, who she knew would take her weakness and turn it against her. Jac raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

'Really? Because no offence, but you look like crap,' she said bluntly. Jasmine snorted with derision, wondering if Jac would ever greet her with anything but an insult.

'Wow, that's nice. Like I've already told you, I'm _fine_ so if you'd just let me get back to AAU now then that'd be great.' She was about to leave when the redhead spoke up again.

'Listen, about the op. Are you sure it's a good idea? Because I've known more qualified professionals than you turn down such a task, and in all honestly I don't think you're ready for it.' Jac was trying her best not to be confrontational, to convey her concern through her words, but it didn't appear to be working as Jasmine bristled at the comment.

'Not ready? You think I'm not ready? What a surprise, the great Jac Naylor once again tries to ruin her sister's career before it's even begun. Do you realise how hard I've been studying for this?! And you want me to throw this chance away so you can keep your reputation intact. Just because you want me to fail doesn't mean I'm going to let that happen Jac.'

Jas usually tried to stay calm when faced with the older woman, but this time the comments had riled her a step too far and she couldn't hold back. She could feel herself getting worked up, and her head was pounding worse than ever but she ignored it. She couldn't let her sister see the effect she had on her. Jac rolled her eyes, sighing to herself as she wondered how to make her sister see sense. Before she even had time to think, the words spilled out of her mouth.

'Don't be dramatic, I'm trying to protect you!'

As soon as she'd spoken her eyes widened. She hadn't meant for the truth to come out like that – nobody was supposed to know that Jac had been looking out for her sister, that she actually cared. She glanced around to see if anyone had overheard them, but luckily none of her colleagues were anywhere to be seen. Looking into Jas's eyes, however, she saw that her outburst had upset the blonde even more.

'Protect me? _You're_ trying to protect me? That's funny, I swear you've been going out of your way to do the opposite ever since I got here. Go to hell, Jac.'

Jasmine was furious – how dare her sister pretend she was trying to help, when they both knew she couldn't care less about her? Her anger had caused the pain in her head to swell even further, and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She couldn't stand being near her sister for a second longer, so she turned quickly on her heel ready to storm away. But the ache was becoming excruciating; her vision had become blurred (whether from tears, pain, or a combination of both, she wasn't sure); she was shaking uncontrollably.

She tried to push it away, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other, but she felt frozen in her own body. Time was slowing around her, and somebody was saying what she thought might be her name but she couldn't really make it out, could just hear the note of worry in their speech. She tried to take another step as the voice became louder, but the effort proved too much. Jas crumbled to the ground, fragile body buckling underneath her, and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN/ I was meaning to get this out before tonight's ep but things have been crazy this week with uni, so here we are! First, this was only meant to be a short chapter but apparently the characters had other ideas… Second, I couldn't resist a little Jac/Jonny mention (I miss my babies) and third, I'm sorry if Jac seems OOC in this chapter. I really struggled to find the right balance between her actually showing she cares but still staying true to herself, so any feedback on that would be hugely appreciated. I'm thinking there'll probably be 1 or 2 more parts to this, but I have a couple of other oneshot ideas that I'll hopefully get round to ASAP.**

 **Thank you for the lovely reviews last time, they made me smile and also made me feel so much more confident about posting this! Again, please r &r/send me a message on tumblr (hastingsmitchell), it would make me so happy. Hope you enjoy!**

Jac knew something was wrong from the way Jasmine's body swayed as she turned around. She knew what would happen before it actually did, and she was already been out of her seat by the time her sister's body crashed to the floor. For such a tiny person, Jasmine had made one hell of a noise as she fell, and the ward seemed to stand still around them as Jac jogged as fast as she could round the nurses station. Kneeling down beside the blonde who was beginning to stir, she beckoned over Matteo who had also come running at the sound.

'She's regaining consciousness but her pulse is way too fast for my liking,' Jac murmured worriedly. 'Jasmine, can you hear me?' The younger girl's eyes flickered a few times before opening fully. She blinked up at her sister, making no attempt to answer, as if she was trying to recall what had led to her being laid on the floor. Jac and Matteo shared an uncertain glance.

'Jasmine, are you okay?' the Italian tried again, and this time the F1 seemed to realise what was going on. She attempted to sit up abruptly but Jac stopped her, placing a hand on her back and gently guiding the girl upright.

'There you go, nice and steady,' she reassured. Jasmine wasn't sure how to react – she'd never seen the consultant try to help someone in this way before, it was strange but she couldn't deny how comforting Jac's touch was to her still-shaking body. It was then that she became aware of a throbbing pain towards the back of her head; not the dull ache from before (which was still present), but as though she'd injured herself in the collapse. Her hands up to her skull, the sudden movement causing the redhead to jump slightly and quickly withdraw her hand from its resting place.

'My head, I- I think I hit it on something, it really hurts,' she stumbled over the words, fatigue being taken over by fear and anxiety. Jac glanced at her for permission, then began to run her hands over the messy blonde hair, halting when she felt a bump that was just beginning to form.

'Yeah, you've got a pretty big bump right here, it looks like you caught the edge of the desk as you fell,' she explained calmly. 'It doesn't look too nasty though, you shouldn't need stitches. But I'd like to keep you in for observation for a while nevertheless.'

At this Jasmine's eyes snapped frantically up to meet her sister's, who had moved back round to her side. 'No, no you can't do this, you know I have to be part of this op! It's my only chance, please don't take it away from me, I'm fine honestly!' She attempted to clamber up and away from the two consultants before her, but found she couldn't muster up the energy to move quickly enough and instead fell back down to her original position. Jac motioned for her partner to turn away now they knew the girl wasn't in danger, manoeuvring herself so she was directly opposite the blonde.

'Jasmine, look at me,' she encouraged quietly, waiting a few seconds until the blonde raised her eyes from the floor. The sheen of unshed tears in her eyes tore at Jac's heart, but she knew this was something that had to be done. 'I'm sorry, but you and I both know that you're not in a fit state to perform this operation. You're quite clearly exhausted, you're shaking all over and to top it off you've suffered a blow to the head, and you _know_ I can't let you risk endangering a patient's life. Do you understand?' The blonde sniffled, eyes threatening to spill over as she nodded her acceptance. Jac breathed a sigh of relief at her cooperation, assuming Jasmine was too tired to fight her on the issue any more. She carried on. 'This does _not_ mean that you'll never be capable of this, or that you'll never get another shot. But you need to learn to recognise your own limits and prioritise yourself, okay?'

Jas turned her head away, the tears now cascading fully down her cheeks as she nodded once again. The extent of her stupidity and irresponsibility hit her as she sat there, having made a fool of herself in front of the Ice Queen for the umpteenth time, and she tried to move away from the older woman in embarrassment. To her surprise, however, a warm hand reached out to stroke her arm in a comforting gesture, which the F1 gladly accepted. It took all her strength not to sink into Jac's touch, but this was a huge step in the right direction for the sisters and she daren't do anything to jeopardise that – she couldn't handle any more rejection. Besides, they were still in the middle of Darwin so it would be unprofessional, and she knew the redhead wasn't keen on public displays of affection. They stayed in that position for a few seconds, both subconsciously relaxing at the other's touch.

Jac glanced at the clock above their heads, realising there was only an hour until she was due in theatre. She racked her brains for what to do next – this was a chance for her to prove how much she truly cared about the young doctor, and make sure she was being looked after in her obviously fragile state. There was no way she was letting her go back to work after the day's events.

'Okay, I need to be in theatre soon but this is what's going to happen. You're going to take the rest of the day off and catch up on your rest, because you're no use to anyone like this. I still want to keep an eye on that head of yours, and luckily for you the ward is quiet today so you're going to take the side room for a few hours and get some proper sleep. I'll get a nurse to check in on you while I'm in theatre, and when I get back we'll see how you're doing and decide what happens next. Got it?' Jac was sure Jasmine would argue with her – feistiness seemed to run in the family, after all – but the girl just sighed and nodded, slowly pulling herself to her feet with the aid of the desk. At that moment Jac's bleeper went off, indicating that Serena Campbell wished to speak to her.

'Right, I have to go see Ms. Campbell but I'll get Matteo to take you across and get you sorted. And don't worry, I'll let her know the situation,' the consultant assured Jasmine, who merely ducked her head in return. Walking away, Jac watched the Italian place an arm around Jas and lead her to the room, the girl still noticeably shaking and moving much slower than usual. She couldn't believe they'd all allowed Jasmine to get this bad without anyone intervening, but now she knew just how broken the girl was, she couldn't turn back.

Matteo had, on Jac's orders, helped Jasmine into the side room and was stood a few feet away as the girl crawled ungracefully into bed, slumping down on the pillows immediately. He knew she must be past the point of exhaustion by now; he'd already questioned her wellbeing the week previously when Jasmine had ventured up to Darwin to help reconcile two sisters. That day had certainly been a challenge. Both Jac and Jas had been frustrated that the girls refused to let go of their squabbles to look after each other, and he couldn't help but laugh at the glaring irony as the two medical professionals themselves had yet to make up.

He was still getting to know the redhead and didn't know much about her past, but from what Mo had told him, Paula had almost singlehandedly broken the teenage Jac and she was still trying to fix herself. And as for Jasmine – it was clear that even though she'd stayed with their mother, she was no better off for it. Her desperation to please others, to be appreciated, to feel included and worth something was so extreme it was making her sick, and there was no doubt in Matteo's mind as to why she felt this way. He was so sure that both of the sisters needed each other much more than they let on, and when the youngest had collapsed he'd seen a completely different side to Jac. Gone was the cold exterior and instead she'd appeared concerned and protective, immediately there to comfort the blonde. He hoped it had given the consultant the wake-up call she needed to step up and prove to Jasmine that they could sort out their relationship, because the girl definitely needed someone in her corner.

Sighing, Matteo turned to make his way back to the ward but as he did so, a glimpse of something beside the bed caught his eye. Moving closer, he found a box of some kind and immediately reached down to open it, knowing that whatever he found wouldn't be good. Turning over the box, he scanned the label.

 _Caffeine Pills_.

'Oh, Jasmine,' he sighed to himself. This explained why she'd been so jittery, and of course why her heart had been beating so fast. The situation must be worse than they'd thought if the F1 was going to such lengths to keep herself going. Pocketing the tablets, he strode quietly out of the room, making a note to tell Jac the next time he saw her. She was _not_ going to like this.

Jac made her way back to Darwin after a slightly awkward meeting with Serena. Although she'd been summoned to go over theatre plans for the afternoon, she'd of course had to tell Ms Campbell about the Jasmine incident, hence why the F1 wouldn't be in theatre. Both women shared an unspoken sense of guilt over the obvious fatigue the young doctor was suffering and their insufficient attempts to help her, but Jac secretly knew the blame lay more at her feet (and she thought the brunette secretly agreed). There was no denying that the issues of the past few weeks had contributed to Jasmine's downward spiral, but Jac knew the girl had been working herself into the ground in order to impress her since the very first day, and she couldn't help feeling hugely responsible. After all, she knew Serena and Jasmine had already come to a truce and the former had stopped piling so much pressure onto her protégé, so it surely wasn't that that still had the blonde in a frenzy.

However, Jac also knew her sister better than she pretended to, and she knew the main cause of Jas's breakdown was her being too hard on herself. She'd realised just from observing her sister and her interactions with others that she'd inherited a lot of the traits from Paula she wished she hadn't; traits they both shared, the ones Jac pretended didn't exist in herself but could identify so easily in her younger counterpart. The compulsive need to prove themselves, stemming from their mother's abandonment in Jac's case and her constant glorifying of her eldest daughter in Jasmine's. The stubbornness she knew had been passed down from her grandmother's side, from what she remembered of her barely-existent childhood. The drive to achieve, to be better than their appalling excuse for a mother, something Jac knew they both shared although neither would ever admit it. And their most dangerous flaw – the refusal to show weakness; the belief that admitting defeat or inability somehow made you useless and pathetic.

This was the first thing Jac could ever remember Paula telling her – 'Crying is for babies. You have to be stronger than that or people will use it against you.'

It had taken her years to be able to open up and display some kind of emotion in public. In fact, it was something she still had to work on, and although she wasn't spiritual in the slightest she thanked her lucky stars every day that Jonny Maconie had come into her life, as he was the first person to ever see the real her. He'd helped her start to overcome so many of her issues, and no matter what happened between them she'd always be grateful for that. But Jasmine didn't have that person. In fact, Jac was pretty sure she had nobody to talk to at all. And unless she started to let people in, that would never change. Jac was determined to prevent her sister from becoming as isolated as she'd once been.

She was about to enter Jasmine's room when Matteo appeared by her side. 'Before you go in, there's something you need to know,' he warned. He handed Jac the tablets, and she inwardly groaned, cursing herself for failing to realise there'd been something else besides of the exhaustion.

'Why on earth is she taking these?! Surely she knows how stupid and dangerous they are?' she ranted, more frustrated than angry. The Italian shook his head.

'She's exhausted and not thinking straight. She probably thought this was the only way she could keep going without anybody noticing.' Jac sighed, knowing he was probably right and the girl must've run out of options by that point. She couldn't believe the doctor was willing to push herself this hard to prove her worth, to the point where she endangered not only herself but the patients too.

'I'll go talk to her,' she said, entering the room and attempting to shut the door quietly, so as not to startle the blonde. But when she looked over at the bed, all she saw was a pair of big blue eyes gazing at her, swimming with tears. Jasmine must have heard everything.

'You silly girl,' the redhead sighed, moving closer to her sister's side. It wasn't really an admonishment, though. Instead, all Jasmine could make out was what she believed to be care and concern. At this, her tears began to fall.

'I'm so sorry Jac, I know it was stupid and I wanted to tell you earlier but I couldn't, I just didn't want to disappoint you even more than I already have, I know I shouldn't have taken them at all I just didn't know what else to do, I'm so so sorry I've messed everything up _again_!' The blonde was sobbing by now, barely able to catch her breath and Jac moved on autopilot, one hand rubbing the girl's back and the other stroking her hair just like she would when Emma got herself into a state.

'Jas, I need you to take deep breaths okay? Everything's going to be fine, just breathe,' she soothed, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt. She almost couldn't believe how instinctively she'd reacted, treating the younger girl just like she did her daughter, but she knew she'd done the right thing as she began to quieten, hiccoughing now and again. After a few minutes, Jac manoeuvred herself out of the position she'd been in, allowing Jasmine to lay back down against the pillows. Her sister looked over questioningly.

'We can talk later. For now, I want you to try and get some rest please. And don't try to convince me you're not tired, because I know you're exhausted in every sense of the word,' she told the younger girl, slipping back into her surgeon voice. Jas wiped her eyes and yawned, nodding slowly in agreement as she turned onto her side.

'Thank you,' she whispered, eyes already beginning to close. Jac smiled softly, probably the first real smile Jasmine had seen from her since that fateful reveal, and within seconds the blonde had fallen fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm just going to apologise already for this chapter. I was planning on going straight to Jac and Jasmine sitting down and talking, but I've had no inspiration whatsoever this week and I wanted to do it justice. So this is basically a filler chapter, I decided it was better than nothing. I wasn't planning on having Jac and Morven interact either, but somehow it just felt right and I couldn't get it out of my head. So yeah, I hope this tides you over for now, and I'll try to update the next part by next week's ep! Please R &R, it means a lot hearing all your feedback – and if you have any ideas/inspiration for what could happen when Jac and Jasmine get home please let me know, I need all the help I can get!**

Jac returned from theatre later that afternoon to find her sister still curled up in the same position in the side room, deciding to let the girl sleep for a while longer. Her body clearly needed the rest, and if she was awake she'd only try to discharge herself which wouldn't end well. The consultant only had a couple of hours left of her shift, and as the ward wasn't too busy she'd taken to her office with the intention of getting on with the mountain of paperwork that had been piling up over the past few weeks.

However, she was struggling to focus on the task at hand as her mind kept drifting to thinking about what on earth she should do about Jasmine. The F1 needed an intervention, that much was obvious – if she was taking caffeine pills to combat the exhaustion, despite knowing how potentially dangerous it could be, then she wasn't thinking straight. Jac hoped the collapse had been a wake up call for her, but she wasn't prepared to just let her pretend nothing had happened. She just wasn't sure what to do next.

There was a part of her screaming that Jasmine was an adult, she knew her own mind, she could look after herself and it would be easier just to hope she'd see sense. But if they'd got to this point already, then she obviously _wasn't_ taking care of herself, and the redhead couldn't just sit back and watch her spiral further. She might have denied it up until now, but as her older sister it was surely her duty to look out for the girl; something she should have done long ago. The least she could do was start building bridges and try to make up for lost time. But Jac wasn't sure, and felt like she needed to speak to someone who knew her sister a lot better than herself. Reaching for the phone, she dialled the number for AAU and hoped the right person would answer.

* * *

It was another half an hour until a light knock on the office door brought Jac out of her reverie. 'Yes?' she demanded, hoping her message had finally gotten through and breathing an unnoticeable sigh of relief as a mass of brown curls appeared.

'Um, hi. I just got here and Fletch said you'd left a message asking for me, so… here I am,' Morven smiled nervously. She had no idea why the CT consultant would want to talk to her – they'd barely even interacted since she'd started working at Holby, but she'd heard enough to realise that being summoned to Jac Naylor's office was never a good sign. Of course, there was the fact that Jac was her best friend's sister, but as far as Morven knew the two still weren't on speaking terms, so the thought of this conversation being related to Jasmine hadn't even crossed her mind.

'I see you got my message eventually,' Jac raised her eyebrows pointedly as the F2 approached her warily.

'Yeah, sorry. Like I said, my shift only started five minutes ago but I came as soon as I could.' Morven justified herself but received no reply from the redhead, who only gestured for her to take a seat. 'Um, can I ask why you wanted to see me? I mean, we barely know each other, and if you needed a consult from AAU you would have asked someone more experienced…' she trailed off as Jac rolled her eyes at the girl's unsureness.

'Relax, you haven't done anything wrong. Actually, it's not about work. I wanted to talk to you about Jasmine.' Morven's brow furrowed at the comment.

'You want to talk about Jasmine? Why, what's happened? Is she okay? What did you do?' the brunette accused, seemingly forgetting her fear and throwing questions at the consultant so fast Jac had no time to react. It was clear from Morven's tone of voice that Jasmine had told her all about their tricky relationship, and although she couldn't really blame the young doctor for jumping to conclusions, she couldn't deny the jolt of pain she felt at being accused of causing her sister more pain.

' _I_ didn't do anything. Jasmine was meant to be assisting myself and Ms Campbell in theatre today, only she collapsed before she could make it in. She's exhausted, and she hit her head so I've been keeping her in for observation. She'll be fine,' the consultant added hastily, seeing the look of horror on Morven's face, 'she just needs to rest. But I thought you'd want to know.'

The junior sighed in relief. 'Oh right, thanks. God, I _knew_ she wasn't ok last night but she just wouldn't listen! I kept telling her to go home but she was insistent. I should have made her realise how destructive she's been acting lately.'

'Yeah, you should.' Jac hadn't mean to say those words, they'd just slipped out unconsciously but the anguish on Morven's face caused her to look down in regret.

'That's a bit rich coming from you, don't you think?' she bit back. 'At least I've been trying to look out for her these past few months, unlike you!' There was an awkward beat of silence. Both women gazed in opposite directions, afraid to make eye contact until Jac broke the spell.

'Look, I shouldn't have said that. It was unfair of me. I know you're doing your best and I'm glad she has someone like you on her side,' she tried to apologise, knowing she'd never been good at handling these kinds of situations. 'I'll admit that I've treated Jasmine badly since I found out who she was. But I _have_ been trying to look out for her, especially since that whole thing with Serena. 'I'm not completely heartless,' the redhead looked up at Morven, a hint of desperation in her tone as she willed her to understand. The F2 could tell Jac was being serious – she sounded just like Jasmine so often did, desperately trying to prove something, but too proud or perhaps even afraid to admit it. They were so alike, it was almost unnerving. Just as she was about to reply, a realisation hit her.

'It was you! _You're_ the one who made the complaint against Serena. It wasn't me, and I know it wasn't Bernie or Jasmine herself, so that means it had to be you.' Morven was shocked. If Jac really had taken such a drastic step, then she wasn't lying. She obviously struggled to show her feelings publically, but she'd tried to protect her little sister and that meant she did care after all.

The consultant raised her eyebrows, snapping back to her usual defence mechanisms. 'And what if I did? You can't prove it,' she said, hoping she sounded more confident and unbothered than she felt. By the look on Morven's face, she didn't.

'Look, Jac, I won't say anything if that's what you want. But I really think you should tell Jasmine. She's under the impression that you want nothing to do with her and don't care about her at all, and look what a state she's got herself in. She needs you more than you realise.' Jac let out a breath she didn't know she was holding at her words. Morven was right; she couldn't go on much longer pretending to hate her sister who was clearly in a bad way. She had to start trying to fix the mess they'd made.

'I know. I've been so caught up in my own feelings that I didn't notice how damaged she is.' She sighed. 'And it's Ms Naylor to you.' Her words didn't have the sharp edge to them that could usually be heard, and Morven knew she'd struck a chord with the consultant.

'Anyway, I was going to discharge her tonight but I need someone to keep an eye on her overnight just in case. So if you're working the night shift, maybe I should keep her in until tomorrow,' Jac mused. 'Unless…' she stopped, suddenly unsure of whether to voice her next suggestion, but the brunette seemed to sense what she was about to say.

'Unless she could stay with you for the night?' Morven asked gently, to which the redhead shrugged.

'Yeah, but I don't think she'll be too happy about that. She's not exactly my biggest fan right now.'

'Are you kidding? All Jas has wanted ever since she got here is to get to know you. I think spending the night with her sister is exactly what she needs. But she'll probably try to fight you at first – she's stubborn as hell. I wonder where she gets that from,' Morven smirked, as Jac gave her a look that said _'don't push it'_. 'Seriously though, I know she won't resist an opportunity to spend time with you. And she hates being alone.' The consultant nodded gently, hoping she was right. Morven stood up to leave, sensing the conversation was almost over.

'Listen, I better get back to the ward now. I hope it all goes well, just remember it's not too late to make up for everything that's happened,' Morven smiled. 'Tell Jas I'll text her in my break, yeah?'

'I will. Thank you.'

Jac knew she'd made a wise decision by talking to Morven about the situation. Having the support of Jasmine's closest friend made her sure she was doing the right thing, for both of them. Now all she had to do was convince Jasmine to see it too.

* * *

The clock had just struck 6pm when Jac stuck her head around the door to the side room, having just locked her office at the end of her shift. She ungracefully dumped her belongings on the chair by Jasmine's bedside, rifling through the charts to check there'd been no further complications. Satisfied, she pulled out the discharge forms she'd already completed and placed them on the edge of the bed. Jasmine was still sleeping, but Jac was going to have to wake her if she wanted to get her home any time soon.

She gently spoke the girl's name to no avail, repeating herself even louder. At this, Jasmine began to stir. She stretched, making a sound somewhere between a squeal and a groan, before trying to prise her heavy eyelids fully open. Looking around the room, she struggled to work out where she was until her eyes fell upon the redhead, causing them to widen ever so slightly before she pulled herself upright and attempted to compose herself.

'You came back,' she stated quietly. Jac was puzzled – why was the girl so shocked?

'I said I would, didn't I?' she replied. Jas looked at the ground before replying, 'People always say that. But they don't always come back.' Their eyes locked before the younger of the two broke contact, her half-asleep state causing her to revert to an almost childlike confusion. Jac wasn't sure what to say next, but decided to avoid that particular discussion for the time being.

'Did you sleep well?' she enquired, earning herself a non-committal 'hmmm' for her troubles. The blonde seemed to have woken up even more exhausted than she had been previously; her eyes were bleary and she appeared slightly dazed, although Jac supposed that wasn't surprising given how deep a sleep she'd been in. It reminded her of the way Emma took a while to adjust once she'd woken up from a nap, and she smiled inwardly at the thought.

'Well, good news is that you seem to be doing ok, so I'm happy to discharge you tonight.' Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief, which was sure to be short-lived. 'But, I'm not happy about you going home unsupervised tonight. You sustained a blow to the head, and you need somebody around just in case anything happens. Now I've spoken to Morven and it turns out she's on the night shift, so… I want you to stay with me for the night. Just so I know you're ok.' Jac shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to act unfazed when inside she was extremely nervous of her sister's reaction. As expected, the suggestion didn't go down too well.

'What? No, you don't need to do that, I'm fine! I can look after myself, I'm not a baby. I've been doing it for long enough,' Jasmine argued, raising her voice. It was causing her head to hurt again, but she didn't care. She didn't want Jac's pity; not now, not after the way she'd treated her all these months.

'Jasmine,' Jac warned, 'Nobody's saying you can't take care of yourself. However, you collapsed from exhaustion and hit your head, and those can have serious consequences. I just don't want you to be alone after today's events. If you'd rather stay here overnight, then fine. But otherwise, you really have no choice but to come with me.'

The F1 sighed, silently weighing up her options. On the one hand, she wanted to stay far away from Jac. She hadn't been there for her when Jasmine had wanted her to be, so what had changed? Jac Naylor had wanted nothing to do with her little sister from the moment she'd set eyes on her, and she certainly didn't deserve to play the caring older sibling role now.

But then… Jasmine was so tired, more than she ever had been, and she still felt like her head might explode at any minute. And Jac's touch and presence had been so comforting earlier on – it was all Jasmine had longed for since the day she found out she had a sister, and she wasn't prepared to throw what might be a lifeline to salvaging their relationship away. Plus, she really, _really_ didn't want to spend another night alone.

Jac could see the blonde's mind working overtime, so she decided to intervene. 'Hey,' she said gently but firmly, 'I'm not taking no for an answer, ok? I don't want you to be alone tonight.' Jasmine glanced at her, mind made up before nodding, not wanting to speak and reveal her true feelings. She didn't want Jac to think she'd just give in and forgive her everything in an instant.

'Ok. But only because I don't want to stay here.' Jac returned her words with a sad smile, seeing through her sister's façade instantly. 'Deal,' she replied. 'We'll pick up your things on the way to the car.' Jasmine blinked up at her, feeling embarrassed. 'I don't have much with me... I've not really been home properly for a while.' Jac's heart broke at the tiredness and pain in her voice, and she decided not to push the issue any further for the time being. She bent down to retrieve her bags as Jasmine sung her legs off the bed and got unsteadily to her feet.

'That's fine, you can borrow some of my stuff for the night,' Jac assured her. 'Come on, let's get you home.' The two walked side by side through the word, Jac hovering slightly behind her sister just in case anything happened, wondering what the night would bring.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I just want to apologise for the fact this chapter is double the length of the rest, I tried to cut it somewhere but it was too intense! I'm also sorry if some of Jac's explanation is kind of repetitive, I just felt like there was a certain amount that needed exploring before they could move on. I've been struggling to write this part all week, I had such a clear vision of how it would go but I couldn't quite get the words down, so I hope I've done it justice. Again, please let me know what you think, reviews make me so happy! (and constructive criticism is always welcome too)**

 **Ps. Have you guys seen the new spoilers for next week?! Looks like Jac is finally going to stand up for Jasmine in front of Serena, I can't wait!**

 **Enjoy x**

The short journey home was relatively silent, save for the quiet hum of the radio. Jac preferred it this way – she wasn't much of a talker at the best of times, and the peaceful drive from the hospital to her house gave her time to clear her head after a chaotic day. She was surprised at Jasmine, though – the girl usually chattered non-stop, a trait that had annoyed Jac on Darwin, but she hadn't opened her mouth once since they'd pulled out of the car park. Wondering if she'd fallen asleep again, Jac glanced across the seat but instead Jasmine's eyes were wide open, staring vacantly ahead. Perhaps they were both too caught up in their own overthinking – this would be the first time the two sisters had spent together outside of the hospital, or even on speaking terms, since their first meeting, and both were nervous although they'd never admit it.

Before Jac had time to ponder the issue any further, a soft voice spoke up from beside her. 'Will Emma be there tonight?' Jasmine enquired. She wasn't sure what she wanted the answer to be. Ever since she found out she had a niece she'd longed to meet her, but after such an emotionally and physically draining day she wasn't sure she was in the right state of mind at that moment in time. Either way, she needed to know beforehand so she could prepare herself.

Jac tilted her head slightly. 'No, she's with her dad tonight. He had a couple of days off this week so she's been staying with him since Sunday.'

'Oh, okay. I was just wondering,' Jasmine replied. On one hand, it was a relief, but on the other it meant it was definitely just her and Jac tonight, which made her even more anxious. She had no idea how it was going to go. The consultant had been nothing but kind to her over the past few hours, even acting (dare she say it?) like a real big sister would, and yet the blonde still couldn't quite believe that all the months of torment and isolation were over. However, she'd been waiting for this moment for her entire life, and she knew that throwing away what might be her last chance at bonding with her sister was something she'd regret forever.

Suddenly, the car came to a halt. 'We're here,' Jac nudged the blonde, who must have drifted off into her imagination as she seemed startled to realise they'd stopped moving. Following the older woman to the front door, Jasmine wondered what she'd find inside. She knew Jac was a self-proclaimed workaholic, and somehow she imagined the house to be all cold, clinical and unwelcoming. As she stepped over the threshold, she was pleasantly surprised. The hallway was painted cream, as she'd expected, but the room felt warm and homely. In the corner she spotted a few pairs of tiny shoes lined up neatly beside a pair of heels and trainers that could only belong to Jac. The sight made her smile – it looked like Emma Naylor had definitely inherited her mother's love for cleanliness and order. Jasmine had the strangest feeling like she was walking into a sanctuary, a safe place, of which she hadn't known many in her life. The thought instantly put her at ease.

Slipping off her trainers, she glanced awkwardly at the older woman. 'I don't mean to be rude but could I use your bathroom before anything else?' she asked. Jac chuckled. 'Sure, it's just upstairs, second door on the left. Tell you what, why don't you run yourself a bath while you're up there? No offence, but you look like you could do with one. I'll grab something for you to change into once you're out.' Jas nodded in agreement; a bath sounded heavenly after the day she'd had. 'Thanks, Jac,' she smiled gratefully, catching sight of a small smile on the consultant's face as she headed upstairs.

A couple of minutes later Jac popped her head around the door after making sure her sister was decent, clutching a pair of cotton pyjamas and a giant fluffy dressing gown. 'You might as well just put these on, I doubt we'll be late to bed,' she said wryly. 'Sorry if the bottoms are a bit long for you, it's the best I can do I'm afraid.' She flashed a somewhat apologetic look in Jasmine's direction, to which the younger woman replied, 'I'm sure they'll be fine, I really appreciate it.' Satisfied, Jac headed back downstairs to allow the blonde some space to recharge, and to gather her thoughts.

There was no denying the next few hours would be a big deal for Jac. Since the very day she'd discovered that Jasmine Burrows existed, she'd thrown her walls up and tried her hardest to push the girl away. She'd refused to acknowledge, even to herself, the idea that they could actually have a relationship – just another of the destructive tendencies she'd learnt over the years. And, perhaps worst of all, she'd known from that first rejection of her sister's friendship how much pain she was causing, even relished in knowing somebody else was hurting too, and she hated herself for it. If the past few weeks had taught her anything, it was to make the effort before it's too late, and after seeing how broken Jasmine was she couldn't deny it to herself any longer. Jac needed to step up and protect her sister, like she should have done all those months (or even years) ago, and there was no turning back this time. Tonight would give her the chance to prove that she meant it, that she wanted to get to know the blonde, and she was making a conscious effort to show her how much she cared and how sorry she was. She just hoped she hadn't left it too late.

* * *

Jac had spent the past twenty minutes pottering around the kitchen aimlessly whilst Jasmine took a bath, trying to calm her nerves. She just wanted the night to go smoothly but knew there were some awkward conversations to be had before the two could reach a real truce. She had to keep reminding herself that she had to let Jasmine in; had to let her see the real Jac if they were to build any kind of trust.

The elusive true self of Jac Naylor. The damaged, fragile, but kind-hearted and loving woman she was deep down. Only a handful of people had ever seen that side to her. Emma, of course (her birth had brought out the best in Jac, and everyone around her knew it). Jonny. Sacha. Mo. Michael. Joseph, once upon a time. Jasmine, on the other hand, had only seen the worst version of her. The well-known 'ice queen' façade that she unleashed whenever she felt afraid or threatened. But tonight, Jac was determined to change that. She knew it wouldn't be easy to push her beloved defence mechanisms to one side, but it was necessary.

The loud ringing of the doorbell pulled Jac back to the present as she hurried to the porch. Padding back through to the kitchen, balancing boxes in each arm, Jac almost yelped in shock as she almost collided with the petite figure of her sister. Jasmine smiled sheepishly as the consultant grabbed hold of the counter, placing the boxes down and exhaling slowly. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I thought you'd have heard me come downstairs,' she apologised. Jac shook her head. 'It's fine, you just caught me off-guard that's all.' Realising the redhead wasn't mad at her, Jasmine moved closer to the worktops.

'You ordered pizza?' she grinned, her face lighting up for the first time all day. Her enthusiasm made Jac smile; she seemed so much younger in that moment, so innocent and unaffected. 'Yep. I figured we could both do with a treat after today. Um, I wasn't sure what you'd like so I just ordered half margarita and half pepperoni. I hope that's ok?' However hard she tried to disguise how nervous she was, her voice gave it away, causing Jasmine to look up, surprised. She hadn't imagined for a second that Jac would be just as scared as her, but sure enough, she didn't look quite as composed as usual. Knowing the older woman realised what a big deal tonight was reassured Jasmine more than she expected.

'That's fine, pepperoni's my favourite actually! But we could always share the two if you want?' she answered. The hopeful tone of her words tugged at Jac's heartstrings – the blonde was so clearly desperate to get closer to her, and she couldn't believe she'd dismissed her all those times before. Now she was even more sure she was doing the right thing. 'Sure,' she replied with a small smile. 'How's your head doing?'

Jasmine pulled a face. 'Not as bad as before, but it still hurts.' The redhead reached into the drawer in front of her before handing the girl a couple of tablets, placing a glass of water next to her which Jasmine gratefully accepted. 'Right, if I grab this box can you grab the other?' Jac requested, leading the younger girl through to the living room. She plonked herself down ungracefully at one end of the sofa, waiting for Jasmine to settle down beside her. But the latter's attention had been piqued by something else.

Jasmine stood, captivated, in front of a large picture of a beautiful red-haired child hung up on the wall. It was the first time she'd ever set eyes upon her niece, and she was even more taken aback than she'd anticipated. 'So this is Emma?' she breathed, more to herself than anything. 'She's gorgeous, Jac. She looks just like you.' Suddenly realising how lame she sounded, she tore her eyes away and hurried over to the sofa, but the huge smile on her sister's face took away any fear she'd had of overstepping the mark. 'Thank you,' Jac replied sincerely. 'She acts just like me too, although I'm not sure if that's a good thing,' she smirked, causing the blonde to giggle. 'How old is she now?' Jasmine asked timidly, but Jac didn't seem to mind her curiosity. 'She turned four in January, and she's perfect. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me,' the redhead spoke softly, and Jasmine couldn't help but smile. Despite her own troubled upbringing, it was clear that Jac was an incredible mother, and her adoration for Emma melted the younger woman's heart.

'I'm guessing that's Jonny?' Jasmine continued, gesturing to a framed picture on the sideboard of Emma with her parents. Jac rolled her eyes good-naturedly. 'Let me guess, you've been speaking to Maureen,' she joked. 'Yep, that's good old Jonny Mac.' Jasmine wasn't sure if Jac was upset by this idea, and she felt the need to defend Mo. 'She might have told me a thing or two about you and him, but to be fair she didn't know who I was at that point. Anyway, he looks nice.' Jasmine finished, sneaking a glance at Jac. She could have sworn a flicker of a smile crossed her sister's face. 'He is,' she replied, before shoving a large slice of pizza into her mouth. The blonde took this as an indication that the conversation was over, and deciding not to push her luck this early on she followed suit, sighing contentedly.

'God, this is the best pizza I've ever had,' she said dreamily. Jac raised her eyebrows. 'Well, that's good. I did consider getting you a Hawaiian but I thought it might be a bit risky. I'm not a fan of pineapple on pizza.' Jasmine screwed up her face in disgust. 'Ew, me neither! It's just wrong. You definitely made the right choice.' After exchanging small smiles, the pair lapsed into a companionable silence, save for the buzz of the television in front of them. It wasn't as awkward as either woman had expected, though, but both knew that there were a few things they needed to talk about before any real progress was made.

* * *

'So…' Jac decided to take her chances, hoping that Jasmine might be more likely to listen to her if she tried to talk casually. The blonde sensed the change in tone immediately, and straightened herself in preparation. 'I think there are some things we need to get out in the open before we go much further, don't you?' Jac prodded even further, to which Jasmine nodded slowly. She felt a strange sense of relief at the thought of finally being able to share things with her sister, even though she knew it would be painful. But it was something they had to do, if they stood even the slightest chance of reconnecting. The redhead shifted position to lean against the arm of the chair, Jasmine mirroring her so that they faced each other.

Biting the bullet, Jac spoke up.

'First things first – why on _earth_ did you take those caffeine pills this morning? I get that you were exhausted and didn't know what to do but you're a good doctor, you know how dangerous they are,' Jac admonished, although her tone was more concerned than angry. 'And what if something had gone badly wrong? What if you'd collapsed in theatre, or made a fatal mistake? You know can't go around endangering people's lives like that, Jasmine.'

The F1 looked down at her hands, feeling like an idiot as she tried to explain herself. 'I know. Look, I honestly don't know what I was thinking. The past few days have been a blur and I could barely stay on my feet, and I just thought that if I could get through the day and the op then everything would be ok! I know I shouldn't have taken them, but I needed this so badly, Jac,' confessed the blonde. 'I needed today to go well, to prove to everyone that I _am_ capable. That I _am_ good enough. But I messed it all up like I always do.'

Jac had been listening intently, and shook her head at the girl's final words. 'You did _not_ mess everything up. You just made a poor judgement call and ignored your own wellbeing for the sake of your pride, which by the way could have ended a lot worse if you hadn't collapsed where you did,' she reminded her gently. 'I know you were desperate for today to go well, but you can't put yourself in danger like that. It's not worth it. And I should know,' the consultant scoffed gently.

Jasmine wondered for a second what she meant by that, but now wasn't exactly the right time to swap anecdotes. 'I know,' she sighed, tipping her head back against the sofa. 'I really do know it was a stupid thing to do, and I promise I won't do it again. Please, please don't tell Ms Campbell or Mr Hanssen! They won't give me another chance,' she pleaded, hoping her sister's compassion would overrule her logic. Jac pursed her lips. 'I'm not going to tell them, don't worry. I think we've got the situation under control now, haven't we?' she asked pointedly, receiving another relieved nod from the girl. 'But if this ever happens again I will have to take it further, understand?'

'Yes, but it won't. I promise.' Jasmine's conviction made the older woman smile gently.

'Good. Now, speaking of Ms Campbell – how are things between you two? No more incidents since we last spoke?' Jac inquired. 'They're fine. Actually, they're good. And she hasn't raised her voice to me since,' the blonde replied. The consultant looked disbelieving, so she elaborated. 'Honestly, it's been great. She apologised that day, after… well, you know. We went over some things and got everything out in the open and now it's going well. I asked her to carry on mentoring me, and I really think we're making progress,' Jas enthused. Jac replied sincerely, 'Good. I'm glad to hear it. I know she's not been herself lately, but that doesn't mean it's ok for her to lash out at you.' Her sister nodded.

'I know, but I just didn't want to cause her any more pain – I've already done enough of that,' she sighed. 'Anyway, I think someone must have told Hanssen about it because she said there'd been a complaint, and that's what made her realise she wasn't coping well. Except I don't know who it was, because Ms Wolfe seemed to think it was me and I know it wasn't Morven…' As Jasmine trailed off, Jac's heart pounded in her chest. Here was the perfect opportunity to tell Jasmine the truth about her actions. Clearing her throat nervously, she interrupted the F1. 'About that… It was me.' She looked down at her hands, fiddling with the sofa cushion, almost afraid to look Jasmine in the eye and see her reaction. The blonde's eyes almost shot out of her head comically at the revelation, and if Jac had been looking she would've laughed.

'It was you? _You_ made the complaint, for me?'

Of all the things Jasmine had prepared herself to hear tonight, that definitely wasn't one of them. True, she'd wondered who on earth had made the complaint, but never once did it cross her mind that her sister had been the one to stick up for her. Jac looked up, eyes meeting Jasmine's. 'Guilty as charged,' she murmured. The blonde couldn't seem to wrap her head around the situation. 'But why would you do that? I don't get it. You've hated me since the day I arrived, so why would you stand up for me now?'

Jac squeezed her eyes shut. The conversation she'd been dreading was here, and there was no way back.

'Look, I think we both know I owe you a huge apology for the way I've treated you. But if you'll give me a chance, I'll try and explain everything to you, as well as I can. I know I probably don't deserve one, but _you_ deserve to know the truth about me. And if we're to stand any chance of building a relationship… I think I need to do this,' she said heavily.

A few seconds passed before Jasmine tentatively replied. 'Ok.'

 _Here goes nothing_ , Jac thought to herself. Time to lay her soul bare to a girl whose existence she'd denied for the past seven years, who she'd hurt too much. A girl that deserved an explanation. Jac wasn't one for expressing her feelings, but she'd never felt so desperate for somebody to understand what was going on inside her head. Taking a deep breath, she began.

* * *

'Contrary to what you might think, I've never hated you, Jasmine. Never. I hated the way you came into my life and shattered everything I thought I knew about myself, but never you personally.

There are people I do hate, though. Myself. For more reasons that I can tell you now. And Paula. No matter how much time passes, I still hate her for everything she did to me and the damage she still causes me, and I took that anger out on you because I was afraid.' She paused for breath.

'You have to understand one thing: I don't know how to love. I mean, I love Emma unconditionally, but that didn't come easily. And with everyone else it's different. I never knew what love was, Paula made me believe that it was _me_ who was unloveable, that it was my own fault she had to leave. She hurt me so much, more than I like to admit even to myself.

And when I got taken into care, I learnt the hard way that love makes you weak, and the weak ones become prey. I was 12 years old, and already I'd learnt to shut myself away and suppress my feelings to stop myself from getting hurt any more. All because of her,' she practically spat the last sentence, and Jasmine felt her heart break a little at the thought of her big sister as a little girl, all alone in the world.

'It's ok, Jac. You don't have to tell me any more,' she whispered. Jac looked her directly in the eye. 'I want to,' she replied, her voice strained. 'You deserve the truth.' Jasmine closed her eyes in acceptance, and the redhead continued.

'Ever since the day she left, I've had my walls up so high. Anyone who's ever tried to get to know me, or, god forbid, love me, has left because I push them away. I destroy everyone I touch before they can destroy me, but then I destroy myself anyway. So that's why I pretend I don't care. I act heartless and cold, soulless, and on the most part nobody cares enough to see past it. And then you turned up.

That first day, when I thought you were just another F1, I immediately felt a connection with you, and it shocked me. I felt like you _knew_ me somehow, like you understood how I worked. Maybe that we were kindred spirits. I saw a lot of myself in you,' at this Jasmine blushed, 'so I decided to give you a chance, and for once I thought something good might come of it. And then I found out who you were.'

The blonde's eyes locked onto hers, swimming with unshed tears as her sister spoke from the heart.

'You told me you were Jasmine Burrows. My sister. And all of a sudden all the pain and the heartbreak that Paula caused came screaming back; all the scars she left were ripped open, and I couldn't bear it. I felt so threatened by you – you had the power to hurt me so badly, and you didn't even know it. But I couldn't risk being around you. All I saw when I looked at you was Paula, and it killed me. So I did the only thing I knew how to, and I turned on you. Made your life a living hell. Did everything I could to push you away, to get you out of my life forever. I tried to convince myself that I didn't need you, that you were nothing to me, and I almost destroyed you in the process.' Jac sighed deeply.

'I've made a lot of mistakes in my time, Jasmine. But the way I've treated you is one of the worst, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself.'

It was only then that Jac felt the hot tears stinging her eyes, threatening to fall. She hated showing emotion in front of anyone, but at that moment she couldn't bring herself to care. She daren't even look at her sister for fear of her reaction – she felt naked, exposed, so sure that the girl would leave her like everybody else now she knew the cold hard truth. She wouldn't even blame her – who would want to stick around knowing how messed up she was?

Through the blur of tears, Jac saw a pale hand reaching out towards her, wrapping gently around her own. Looking up, she struggled to catch her breath as she saw matching tears streaming down her sister's face, the younger girl not even trying to hide her emotion. She felt her heart ache at the sight.

'I'm so sorry Jasmine. I really am. For everything.' The pain and anguish in Jac's voice threatened to tear Jasmine apart, and she suppressed a sob as she linked their fingers together. She couldn't believe how broken the redhead was, how much she'd suffered, the pain she'd internalised; and all because of their pitiful excuse for a mother. After hearing Jac's story, she finally understood why her sister acted the way she did.

'It's ok, Jac. Please don't cry,' she soothed her sister through her own tears. 'It's ok. I understand, and I forgive you. But you have to stop beating yourself up about it. Holding all this pain inside just weighs you down. We're here now, and that's all that matters.' Instinctively, she leant over and wrapped her arms around the older woman, surprised when Jac didn't fight back and instead allowed herself to be comforted as the tears fell. Finally, they were getting somewhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the lack of updates recently, things have been absolutely crazy with my final year of uni coming to an end but now exams are over so I should be able to update regularly! This is kind of a filler chapter because I wanted to ease myself back in, and for some reason this scene has been playing on my mind for ages (any opportunity to explore Jac and Mo's friendship is a yes from me!). So again, sorry if it's not great. The next chapter will be much more Jac/Jas heavy and should be up soon! Please R &R as always whether you liked it or have some constructive criticism for me :) **

An almost comfortable silence had fallen between the two women as the tv flickered softly, an old episode of some American sitcom playing quietly in the background. After their chat, the sisters had at some point shifted so that each was curled up against an arm of the sofa, subconsciously mirroring each other's positions. It had taken them both a while to regain their composure, and though Jac had let down her walls more than ever she was struggling not to put them straight back up. She hated feeling vulnerable more than anything in the world; vulnerable was what had led to her being so badly treated after Paula left. But, she kept reminding herself, she _had_ to get those feelings off her chest. It was the only way she and Jasmine would stand a chance of making a proper go of things. That thought alone was enough to reassure her slightly.

Jac suddenly snapped to attention, realising she'd been staring into space for god knows how long. The cup she clutched to her chest had long since gone cold, the last dregs of her tea now undrinkable. Glancing over at Jasmine, she expected to see her in a similar state. However, what she was met with instead was the sight of the blonde slumped back against the cushions, empty mug still in hand, eyes firmly closed as she exhaled lightly. Jac supposed she shouldn't be surprised the girl had fallen asleep again – she was suffering from exhaustion, of course, and the conversation they'd had was emotionally draining in itself. The redhead herself could feel the effects of the day's emotions creeping in, a gentle pounding in her skull and the stinging of her eyes all telltale signs of the uncharacteristic amount of crying she'd done. Pulling her legs out from underneath herself, she pushed herself up off the sofa slowly, so as not to wake her sister. Once successfully on her feet, Jac reached out and gently prised the mug from Jasmine's hands, relieved to see that the girl didn't seem to have noticed in the slightest. Mulling over what to do next, she padded into the kitchen to retrieve her phone and consider her options.

Having emailed Serena and Hanssen to tell them that Jasmine wouldn't be in work the next day and they needed to find cover for her, Jac sat at the breakfast bar willing herself to press dial. She knew the right thing to do for both of them was for her to take the day off too. Jasmine still needed someone to keep an eye on her, and Jac herself could do with the time off to get her head around the whirlwind day she'd had.

The problem was, Jac Naylor never took time off, and everybody knew that.

It had become something of a running joke among the Darwin team, Jonny and Mo having had to practically force her to stay home on the odd occasion during her pregnancy that her sickness and pain had been too much to bear. And she hated asking favours from people, as it made her seem weak – again, there were only a few people she'd ever let see that side to her, and even then she didn't ask unless it was completely unavoidable. However, she knew she'd have to swallow her pride this time, and there was only one person she knew she could rely on to help her out.

 _Ring me when you get this? Need a favour. x_

She'd barely had time to pour herself a glass of water before her phone started buzzing. Quickly sliding the notification across and hoping the noise hadn't woken Jasmine, Jac answered.

'Hi. Sorry to bother you so late, I didn't want to ring in case you'd just put Hector down.'

'Nah, he's just woken up for a feed so it's fine. What's up? Something happening on Darwin?' Mo asked curiously.

'No no, nothing like that. I'm at home, actually. It's… more of a personal thing,' Jac admitted. She could feel Mo's eyes on her even through the phone.

'Personal? It must be big if you're ringing me at half 9 on a Tuesday for something personal. Is it Emma? Has something happened?' The concern in her friend's voice was evident, and Jac had to suppress a smile. She'd never have believed the two of them would have gotten this close over the years.

'No, Emma's fine, she's with Jonny. It's not that. It's, er, Jasmine actually,' she faltered. How was she going to explain this when Mo had no idea of the events that had unfolded that day?

There was a pause at the other end. 'Jasmine? What does she have to do with any of this? I thought you two weren't speaking these days?' Jac exhaled slowly. She figured she might as well tell Mo the truth; after all, she was the only person the consultant really trusted to help her figure things out.

Having relayed the entire tale to Mo, Jac sighed deeply before taking a gulp of water. Massaging her temples slightly to soothe the growing ache in her head, she waited intently for a reply.

'Listen Jac, I'm not trying to blame any of this on you because we both know Jasmine is capable of making her own choices, but surely you can see now that you two need each other? I know how hard you must be finding this, but Jasmine needs help. She needs someone to be there for her and help her get her head straight, and that someone has to be you, yeah? You're her big sister, Jac. No matter how much you try to ignore it, that's never going to go away.'

Jac rolled her eyes gently – somehow Mo always knew what she needed to hear, even when she herself didn't. 'Yeah, I know that,' she retorted, albeit in a softer tone than usual. 'It's just… what now? Where do we go from here?' She felt so unsure all of a sudden, so out of control, and she hated that feeling.

As if sensing her thoughts, the younger woman replied. 'You can't control things like this. You just have to let them happen naturally, and it'll all work itself out.' There was a pause, Mo presumably expecting the redhead to reply, but Jac wasn't really sure what to say. 'So where is she, anyway?' Jac glanced across to the living room, seeing that Jasmine hadn't moved an inch.

'Sprawled out on the sofa snoring,' she smirked. 'I think she crashed while I was daydreaming.'

'I'm not surprised, poor thing must be exhausted after the past few days,' Mo sympathised. As she spoke, Jac tried to suppress a yawn but ultimately failed, eliciting a chuckle from the other end of the phone. 'And you don't sound much better either! Why don't you get yourselves off to bed, I reckon you could both do with the rest. Tomorrow is a new day,' she reminded her friend.

'Yeah, I think I will. Look, about that favour-' Jac hadn't even finished her sentence before Mo interrupted her.

'You want me to take your shift tomorrow?'

'Well, that's what I was going to ask but… I don't want to mess up your plans. Honestly, it's fine. Jasmine's a big girl, she can look after herself.' Jac wasn't entirely sure who she was trying to convince, herself or Mo. The latter wasn't impressed.

'Jac, don't be stupid! Course I'll swap with you. Derwood's off anyway so he can have Hector for the day. It sounds to me like you both need a day off, maybe then you can figure out where to go from here. Anyway, it just means you owe me a favour in return sometime. It's what mates do, right?'

Jac smiled to herself. She'd never really had friends before Holby, at least not ones she could rely on. It was something she was still getting used to, but at times like this she was thankful she'd learnt to open up a little.

'Of course, whenever you want. Thanks Mo, I really appreciate it,' she replied gratefully.

'Go get some sleep,' her friend admonished gently, ending the call.

Jac took a moment to stretch out her back, yawning once more before padding over to the sink and refilling her glass, grabbing another for Jasmine. Walking back into the living room, she gently prodded her sister, who blinked sleepily and stared vacantly at the older woman.

'I think it's time for bed, Jasmine, you're exhausted,' Jac commented, earning herself a bleary nod from the blonde as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Realising the girl was still half-asleep, the redhead guided her into the hallway and up the stairs to the spare room, pausing to place one of the glasses on the nightstand. When she turned back around, Jasmine had crawled into the middle of the bed, already beginning to drift off once more. It was only then that Jac realised how utterly exhausted she must be to let her guard down that much. Shaking her head, she took one last look at her sister before turning away and heading to her own room, closing the door quietly behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm back! I am SO sorry for the lack of updates on this fic, life has been crazy and to be honest I've been really struggling to write anything happy and positive since we found out about Jas's death. I'd half-written this chapter before the summer trailer came out, but I had to abandon it for a few weeks and write some angsty sad stuff instead to try and get my feelings out (those are on my page if you want to read them). But now I'm back on it and hopefully will be updating frequently again through summer! Probably not every week because I have a lot of things going on, but I'll try for at least every fortnight :)**

 **Also, thank you so much to everyone who has kept reading and reviewing since I last posted! It really means a lot that you all enjoy reading this, and I'll try my best to do it justice for you and for our favourite sisters. This is kind of a filler chapter, but I hope it's ok and you all like it! As always, please R &R :)**

Jac stretched her arms out sleepily as she reached across the bed for her phone, noting the sunshine blaring through a gap in the curtains she'd obviously been too tired to fix the previous night. _8.57am_ , the screen read. She turned back over ungracefully, hair splayed out all over the pillow. It had been a long time since she'd had a lie-in this late; in fact, she couldn't remember when it last happened. Since being pregnant with her daughter, she'd gotten into the habit of waking up with the sunrise (initially due to the horrendous morning sickness she'd experienced), a tradition she and Emma had kept up over the years. And Jac had never been a good sleeper to begin with, always waking up throughout the night and struggling to shut her mind off. She'd expected the same to happen the night before – on the rare occasion she'd made herself relive her memories in the past, she'd inevitably laid awake for hours on end replaying them over and over in her mind. The stress of the day must have exhausted her, she thought. Well, that and the fact she'd finally confronted the Jasmine issue, which lifted a huge weight from her shoulders. She was still tired, but felt refreshed at the same time. Maybe Mo was right (as she so often was, though Jac would ever admit it out loud) - maybe she needed to take some time off for herself every once in a while. It was quite a nice feeling, knowing she had nowhere to be and nothing to do. However, after a few minutes of staring at the ceiling she began to get restless. If she wasn't going to sleep, she may as well get up and get coffee, she reasoned, hauling herself off the bed and heading downstairs.

* * *

Jasmine stirred, opening her eyes briefly to be met with an unfamiliar room. Blinking confusedly, she sat up on her elbows and glanced around, seeing nothing to identify where she'd woken up. This wasn't the first time she'd woken up in a stranger's bed, but she still cringed whenever it happened. Before she could panic, though, the memories of the night before flooded into her mind. Arguing with Jac in the middle of the ward. Collapsing. Jac taking her home. Jac opening up to her. Falling asleep on the sofa, and a hazy memory of being led to the spare room.

Absentmindedly rubbing her eyes, Jasmine contemplated the whirlwind 24 hours she'd had. All those times she'd dreamt about being in her sister's home, but she'd never expected it to happen like this. Suddenly conscious of how much of a wreck she'd been the day before, the nerves began to flutter in her stomach. What if Jac regretted letting her stay the night? What if she'd put her walls back up, and was on the defensive? What if she claimed a lapse in judgement and wanted nothing to do with her again now she'd had time to think about it? The possibilities made the blonde's head spin. All she'd ever wanted was a relationship with the older woman, but she couldn't help wondering whether last night had been too good to be true. She wasn't even sure if Jac would still be home or already at work – what time was it, anyway? Reaching for her phone, she was met with a blank screen and realised she'd been too exhausted to remember to charge it. Her only option was to head downstairs and see what was going on, find out whether Jac had taken back her promises.

Climbing clumsily off the bed (which was about five times bigger and infinitely comfier than the one she'd been "sleeping" in for the past week), Jasmine glanced in the mirror. Her hair looked like a bird's nest, she was paler than she'd been in a long time and the bags under her eyes were horrendous even by her standards. But at least she felt better and more refreshed than she had done in weeks. Attempting to flatten her hair down to no avail, she conceded defeat and made her way out of the room.

* * *

Jasmine wasn't sure what she expected to find upon entering the kitchen – an empty room with a note telling her to get out before Jac came home from work, perhaps? But as she approached the doorway she could clearly see a half-asleep Jac, still in her pyjamas, propped up against the breakfast bar, clutching an almost empty cup of coffee in one hand and tapping away on her phone with the other.

Jasmine paused, suddenly nervous to approach the redhead. She cleared her throat, causing Jac to lift her eyes from the table.

"Morning," she greeted Jasmine. "Did you sleep well?" The younger woman nodded somewhat shyly. "Better than I have in ages. Thanks again for letting me stay." She moved further into the room, feeling more comfortable now seeing as Jac hadn't immediately pushed her away. "Um, I don't suppose you have a charger I could borrow? My phone died on me overnight."

Jac pointed in the direction of the living room. "Mine's plugged in through there, you can use that," she instructed as Jasmine smiled gratefully and moved to get it. Once her phone had finally come to life, she noticed five missed texts from Morven the previous night.

 _Jac told me everything. How many times do I need to tell you to look after yourself? Hope things go well with you two tonight. Let me know you're ok. Love you!_ – sent 19.33

 _Hello, earth to Jas? Nothing exciting happening on AAU tonight, wish you were here to keep me entertained! How's the ice queen?_ – sent 20.05

 _She was really worried about you earlier. She obviously cares about you. I know things are complicated but maybe this is the kick up the arse you two needed to sort yourselves out._ – sent 20.07

 _Helloooooooo? She hasn't killed you has she? (I'm kidding) but please let me know you're okay!_ \- sent 21.24

 _Okay so I just realised you were exhausted, plus your phone's probably dead seeing as you ALWAYS FORGET TO CHARGE IT! Text me in the morning. If I haven't heard from you by lunch I'm sending out a search party (jk). Love you, you idiot x_ (9.30pm)

Smiling to herself at her roommate's obvious concern, Jasmine quickly typed a reply.

 _So sorry! Phone died and forgot to charge :( you know me too well. Interesting night, will fill you in later. Jac's been great. Not sure when I'll be home x_

Locking the screen, she wandered back into the kitchen where the woman in question was raiding through her cupboards, presumably looking for breakfast.

"Sorry, I had a load of texts from Morven so I thought I'd better reply," she apologised, earning a non-committal wave of the hand from the redhead.

"It's fine. Coffee?" she questioned, flicking the kettle on as she placed another mug on the counter beside her own. Jasmine nodded appreciatively, leaning back against the counter. As she reclined, she caught sight of the clock on the wall.

 _9.23am._

A sudden wave of panic surged through her. "Shit, it's that time already? I need to be at work in half an hour!" Before she had time to contemplate her next move, Jac interrupted her. "No, you don't. I spoke to Serena last night and cancelled your shift." At that, the blonde spun round to face her.

"Why would you do that?" Jasmine sounded confused, indignant even. "I'm perfectly fine to work today." Jac raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Really? Because you seemed really on top of things yesterday," she replied, the familiar sarcastic tone evident in her voice. The younger woman frowned. "Yeah well, I was having an off day yesterday, surely even you know what that feels like," she retorted. "Like I said, I'm fine now. I don't need you treating me like a kid."

Jac sighed, she'd forgotten just how stubborn Jasmine was. "Look, I just think it would do you good to have a day off, rest up a bit. You've been overworking yourself so much and it's not healthy! You need to start looking after yourself and taking a break every so often." Jasmine scoffed.

"You're hardly one to talk, Jac, when did you last take a day off?"

"Today, actually!" the redhead retorted. Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"I don't need babysitting, you know. I am an adult. I've looked after myself for long enough." There was a beat of silence, and Jac's face softened slightly.

"I know," she replied quietly. "I just thought it might be nice, you know… if we spent the day together. Got to know each other a bit better." Jasmine could see how nervous the consultant looked, as though she was preparing herself for rejection, and her heart went out to the older woman. It was a feeling Jasmine knew all too well, but she hadn't considered the fact that Jac felt it too.

"Oh," Jasmine breathed out. "Well, um, yeah, I'd really like that." Now it was her turn to appear bashful, as Jac raised her eyes from the floor. "Look, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, and being rude. I just thought… Well, I don't know what I thought, really. But obviously I was wrong, and I'm sorry." Jac chuckled gently.

"It's ok, Jasmine, you don't have to explain yourself. I get it. I haven't given you much reason to trust me before. But I'd like to try and change that." Jasmine nodded acceptingly, her heart hammering in her chest. Here she was, in her sister's kitchen, being offered the chance of a real relationship with the woman she'd idolised for as long as she could remember. This was all she'd ever wanted.

"Me too. Maybe we could start over this morning? Blank slate and all that."

"Tabula rasa," Jac interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

Jasmine shook her head in amusement. "Of course you had to go all pretentious and Latin on me."

"Well, tabula rasa sounds better. It's just a fact."

"Ugh, whatever," Jasmine mock-grumbled, failing to conceal her smile as a smug grin appeared on Jac's face. _This could be interesting,_ she thought to herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I've tried to write this chapter so many times and I'm still not happy with it, but I just wanted to get it up and move on because it's mostly filler (with a bit of sisterly banter for good measure!). Next chapter will be Jasmine meeting Emma (and Jonny) for the first time, I've had it planned out for a while so it shouldn't take me too long!**

 **Also, just a disclaimer that there's not really an overarching "dramatic" storyline for this fic. Some things will happen, but it's more just an exploration of how their relationship could have played out and seeing them as a family. Hopefully enough of you are still interested because I have a few ideas in the pipeline :)**

 **As always, please R &R! and feel free to send any ideas/prompts to me on here or tumblr if you prefer (my url is hastingsmitchell). I'm also considering renaming this fic seeing as the title doesn't really fit any more, please hit me up with any suggestions! xo**

"Okay, yeah, that's fine. See you then."

Jac ended the call as she walked into the living room, flopping down in the empty seat at Jasmine's feet. The blonde had reassumed her position from the previous night, curled against the arm of the chair like a cat as the two had spent the morning lazily watching Friends reruns. This had started an animated discussion on which characters they liked (Jasmine was obviously a Phoebe fan, and surprisingly Chandler was Jac's favourite), which had then spiralled into a more general discussion about their likes and dislikes. They'd consciously tried to keep the conversation light after the emotions of the night before, and both women were secretly thrilled to be discovering so much about the other- it was a start, at least.

Jasmine looked up at her sister curiously as the redhead leant back into the chair. "Everything okay?" she asked, not sure whether her interference would be welcome. Jac smiled assuredly. "Yeah, it was just Jonny. He's going to bring Emma back a bit earlier than usual seeing as I've got the day off, he's on shift tonight you see. Actually," she hesitated, hoping her suggestion would be met with a positive reaction, "he's taking her to the park in a bit, I said I'd meet him there. I thought you might want to come too?"

Jasmine was silent for a moment. She hadn't been expecting that bombshell so soon. Less than 24 hours ago she'd barely been on speaking terms with Jac, and now she wanted her to meet her daughter? After so many months of waiting and wishing, it felt very surreal.

"I, um… Are you sure?" she questioned nervously. "Isn't it a bit sudden?" Jac frowned, sitting up straighter. "I just thought seeing as you're here, you could meet her. She is your niece, after all, and I think I've kept her from you long enough. But if you don't want to-"

She hadn't finished her sentence before Jasmine interrupted her.

"No! No, it's not that. Of course I want to! It's just a bit of a shock, that's all. I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. But I'd love to, if that's okay with you," she babbled, not wanting the opportunity to be taken away from her.

"Well if it wasn't I wouldn't have asked, would I?" Jac retaliated. 'Look, the sooner you get to know her, the sooner she'll get used to you. We'll have to introduce you as my friend first though, she might be confused if we jump straight in with the family stuff. I've never really told her much about it."

Although Jasmine felt a slight pang of disappointment, the blow was softened by Jac referring to her as a friend. That alone showed how much their relationship had developed in the past few hours, and it warmed her heart more than she'd ever let on to know that the redhead was happy to consider her as such. _Baby steps,_ she reminded herself.

"Yeah, that seems fair," the blonde nodded. "Things are confusing enough for us, imagine how a three-year-old would feel?" She chuckled, letting her sister know there was no malice behind her words, and Jac raised her eyebrows good-naturedly.

"Exactly. Better to ease her in gently," she replied. "We'll have to leave in half an hour, so you better start getting ready." She looked commandingly over at Jasmine who quickly hauled herself up off the sofa. After all this time, she was finally going to meet her niece – she hoped the day would live up to her expectation.

* * *

Jac rolled her eyes as the blonde fiddled with her hair for the umpteenth time since they'd got in the car. "Would you stop flapping? You look fine, leave your hair alone," she instructed. Jasmine looked down at her hands, rubbing them together. "Sorry," she blushed. "I just want to look alright, this is a big deal for me you know! I want Emma to like me."

"It _is_ a big deal, for all of us. Even Emma - not that she knows it yet. But she's not going to care what your hair looks like or how much make-up you're wearing. She's three years old, Jasmine! As soon as she realises you're there to play with her, she'll love you." Jac glanced over at her sister as she spoke, the reassuring undertone of her voice softening the bluntness of her words. "You really think I'd have raised my daughter to care about appearances?" She quirked an eyebrow, causing the younger woman to chuckle slightly. "I know, I know. I'm just nervous. The only other family member I've ever met is you and I think we both remember how that turned out," Jasmine confessed.

The redhead felt a sharp sense of regret as she recalled that day, wishing she could turn back the clock and make things right. She hated the way she'd made her sister feel and the impact it had had on their relationship, and it was clear that those feelings were still very much at the forefront of Jasmine's mind.

"Well, today will be better. I'll make sure of it," Jac said determinedly, resting her hand on Jasmine's arm for a few seconds before she turned her attention back to the road. The blonde smiled, a genuine smile this time, and a comfortable silence filled the car before Jasmine spoke up again. "So, is there anything I need to know? Anything Emma loves, or hates for that matter?" Jac was touched at the effort her sister was going to in order to impress her niece.

"Let's see. She's very touchy-feely - clearly she doesn't get that from me - so expect a lot of hugs and hand-holding." The redhead paused as Jasmine snorted, mock-glaring at the younger woman until she stopped. "She goes everywhere with her yellow blanket. Oh, and she's princess-mad."

Jasmine nodded, absorbing every morsel of information she could find. "Something tells me she doesn't get that from you, either," she smirked. Jac shrugged. "I was always more of a tomboy myself, but I did go through a Cinderella phase at one point," she mused. "Really? I'd have thought Elsa would be more your thing," Jasmine teased, failing to suppress a laugh as Jac rolled her eyes once more.

"Oh ha ha, Jac Naylor the infamous ice queen strikes again," she replied sardonically, but the twitch of her mouth gave her away. "Emma's obsessed with Frozen, actually, like every child on the planet. She's always dressing up as Elsa."

"I'd have thought she'd be Anna," Jasmine wondered. "You both have the hair, after all." Jac looked indignant on her daughter's behalf. "Nope, Emma always has to be the boss. Now _that_ she definitely gets from me," she smirked. "No, if anyone's like Anna it's you. You're both all… bubbly and excitable. Like a puppy."

"Well, I _am_ the little sister," the blonde said in a sing-song voice, hoping she didn't sound as nervous and desperate as she felt saying those word. She wasn't sure how Jac would react to such an explicit comment. There was a beat of silence, then the redhead locked eyes with her in the rearview mirror. "You are," Jac smiled pointedly, acknowledging the relationship between the two of them out loud for the first time. Jasmine's own smile matched her own, and after a moment the women both burst into peals of laughter. _So this is what it's like to have a sister._

After a few seconds, Jac had calmed down enough to continue. "Anyway, where were we? Oh, Emma's dislikes. She's scared of the dark, can't sleep without her nightlight on. She hates peas. And she's not too keen on large animals either." Jasmine took all of the answers in her stride, mentally storing them away in case she'd need to remember them.

"Okay, cool. I'll bear that in mind." She gazed out of the window as Jac swung the car through a large iron gate, the crunch of gravel under the tyres alerting her that they'd reached the car park. "You ready?" Jac asked, cutting the engine. The blonde took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ready."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I know you've all been waiting for this one, so here we go. It's finally time for Jasmine to meet Emma! I had to end it here to get it to flow, so the next chapter will involve a lot more Jas/Emma interaction - not sure when that'll be up though, I'm super busy this week. Hope you enjoy, please r &r (and if there's any scenes/ideas you'd like to see feel free to message or comment)! **

**Ps. Is everyone else as excited as I am for Jac/Emma scenes in tomorrow's ep?! It's been so long!**

Jasmine felt her heart pounding in her chest as she fell into step beside her sister. Although she was ecstatic to finally be meeting Emma, she couldn't help but worry whether the girl would like her. The last time she'd been this nervous was the day she'd introduced herself to Jac – it was hard to believe that only seven months had passed since then, so much had happened in both of their lives. _Pull yourself together, Jasmine,_ she scolded herself. _Now is not the time to go reminiscing._ She glanced sideways to see that Jac had quickened her pace, and as they rounded the corner her attention was caught by a blur of red hair.

"Mummy!"

The little girl shrieked with glee as she hurtled towards them, barely acknowledging the blonde's presence as she threw herself into Jac's arms. Jasmine watched, fascinated, at the speed of the redhead's reaction, her arms automatically enclosing around her daughter as she scooped her up.

"Hi, princess!" Jac planted a kiss to Emma's forehead. "I've missed you."

"Me miss you too Mummy," the girl replied, causing Jasmine's heart to clench. It was like her sister had transformed into a completely different person the moment she set eyes on her daughter, and even though she'd only seen them together for a few seconds Jasmine had no doubt that Jac was an incredible mother. The bond between the two of them was already clear.

As Emma babbled on about her stay with her father, Jac oohing and ahhing at the right moments, Jonny approached them all. _Well, I can see why Jac was attracted to him,_ Jasmine thought to herself, suppressing a smirk.

"Hi there, I'm Jonny, although I guess you already know that!" he spoke in a lilting Scottish accent, holding out his hand for her to shake. "It's so good to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

Jasmine was momentarily taken aback by the knowledge that her sister had apparently discussed her with her "ex", but recovered herself quickly. "Likewise. She talks about you a lot, you know," she teased. The Scot's eyes twinkled. "Oh really?"

"Oh god. I'm so going to regret introducing you two, aren't I?" Jac interrupted the conversation exasperatedly, causing both parties to turn back around and shoot her matching cheeky grins. "You said it," Jonny replied smugly, as the blonde laughed. Her eyes fell once more onto Emma, still clinging tightly to her mother, but this time she was caught off-guard to see the girl's bright green eyes staring curiously into her own.

"Mummy, who this?" Emma jabbed her mother's arm, frowning gently in Jasmine's direction. Jac shifted her daughter onto her other hip so that she had a better view, and Jasmine noticed out of the corner of her eye that Jonny had turned away to give the women some privacy.

"This is Jasmine. She's Mummy's friend. Say hello, Emma," Jac encouraged, silently praying that the girl did as she was told. Emma stared at Jasmine for a few more seconds. "Hello," she said eventually, with a little wave. "Hi, Emma," Jasmine replied, smiling. "It's nice to finally meet you. Your mummy's told me a lot about you!" The redheaded girl giggled shyly and buried her head further into Jac's chest. "Mummy say I her fav-rite person in the world!" Emma replied happily, causing Jasmine to let out a quiet "awwww" and Jac to blush slightly.

It was true, she'd repeatedly spoken those words to her daughter for as long as she could remember, but the redhead wasn't used to other people being privy to such intimate parts of her life. However, she reminded herself, Jasmine was family, and hopefully she'd be spending much more time with them from now on, meaning she'd better get used to the younger woman seeing her softer side. She couldn't allow herself to feel self-conscious around her sister – the last thing she wanted was for her relationship with Emma to suffer because of it. _It's just Jasmine,_ she scolded herself. _Get a grip._

"That's right," Jac laughed gently, tickling her daughter's chin. The blonde was still surveying them both with the biggest grin Jac had ever seen, as though she never wanted to look away, and it made her feel both proud and a little uncomfortable at the same time. As the laughter died down, Emma turned back to her mother.

"She Mummy's friend? Like Mo-Mo and Zosy?" she inquired. Jac nodded, noticing a flash of curiosity and – perhaps disappointment? – pass over Jasmine's face. "Yes, like Mo and Zosia. Jasmine knows them too, don't you?" she drew her sister back into the conversation, Emma's attention snapping back to the blonde. "Yes, I know Mo and Zosia," Jasmine replied, forcing herself to smile brightly. "Me love Mo-Mo. She give me cuddles," the girl explained seriously. Clearly bored with the conversation, she turned her head back to Jac. "Mummy, me go play now?" After Jac had put her daughter down, watching as she ran towards the climbing frame with Jonny hot on her heels, she glanced over at her sister.

"You okay?" she asked, to which Jasmine nodded. "Yeah, fine," she replied, trying to cover up her insecurities. "That went pretty well, actually. She's adorable." Jac smiled. "That she is. But I can tell something's bothering you, so spill." Jasmine sighed. "It sounds pathetic, though," she mumbled.

"It might be, but I still want to know."

"Okay, fine. It's just, I don't know… it threw me a bit when Emma mentioned Mo and Zosia, you know? I guess I didn't think about the fact that she's known your friends, _our_ friends, for as long as she can remember, and I wasn't there. Don't get me wrong, it makes me happy that you have them in your life, and that she's grown up surrounded by love. I just feel like I've missed out." She stopped, finding herself unable to read Jac's expression. "Look, just forget it," she continued frustratedly. "I told you it was pathetic."

"No." Jac had found her voice again. "It's not pathetic. In fact, it's totally understandable. You _have_ missed out on the first few years of her life, it's true. But we can't do anything to change that now - all we can do is concentrate on the future. Emma does adore Mo and the others, they're like family to her, but that doesn't mean you can't be too. You already _are,_ Jasmine! But you can't expect to bond with her in the first thirty seconds." Jasmine nodded mutely, relieved that the older woman seemed to take her fears seriously and wasn't just laughing her off. "Once you've spent some time together and she's got used to having you around, you'll be fine. You're her _auntie_ ," Jac reminded her.

"Thanks, Jac," Jasmine smiled ruefully. "I think I might've gotten a bit ahead of myself. I know realistically it'll take a while to build that relationship, but I can't wait to get to know her properly." Just then, the two heard a shout from the climbing frame.

"Jasmine, you play with me?"

The younger woman's eyes lit up, as Jac shot her a look that clearly said _I told you so._ "Well, what are you waiting for?" she nudged her sister, who grinned before heading over to where Emma was hiding.

As she watched Jasmine's retreating back, Jac allowed herself a moment of reflection. For most of her life, she hadn't thought she'd ever have a family of her own. And now here she was, her daughter and her sister meeting for the first time, and she felt more content than she'd been in years. Maybe this was what she'd been missing all along.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Finally, another update! Sorry for the long wait, I've just moved to a new uni to start my postgrad and it's taken a while for things to settle down enough for me to have time to write. I will definitely be carrying on this fic, but I still might not be updating regularly as uni obviously has to come first" But hopefully I should be able to find the time!**

 **Can you believe we're still on the first 24 hours of Jac and Jasmine's new relationship?! This part wasn't meant to go on for this long, but I just get carried away when inspiration strikes sometimes. I think there's only another chapter or two to go before we skip a little while though (not much, but maybe a week or so because I need to advance their relationship somehow!) I still have a lot more ideas for the future though, and I can't wait to be able to explore them.**

 **Again, apologies for the wait but I hope this is worth it (I even made sure it was extra long to make up for how long you've been waiting)! Please read and leave a review if you're still enjoying the fic or have any suggestions (I really hope people are still interested!), I love hearing your opinions and it inspires me so much more when I know people are liking what I'm writing :)**

 **(Also, I'm still not sure whether this fic needs renaming now? So if you guys have any possible suggestions please let me know!)**

"So, how are you holding up?"

Jac turned her head sharply from where she'd been watching Emma and Jasmine to stare at Jonny, furrowing her eyebrows at his question. "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" she snapped defensively, a look of annoyance passing briefly across her face. However, Jonny wasn't convinced. Over the years he'd learnt to read Jac like few others could, and her eyes always gave away what she was feeling underneath all the bravado – happiness, doubt, relief, insecurity. For a woman who liked to pretend she had no feelings, it was evident that right now she was experiencing almost every emotion under the sun.

"Jac," the Scot tried again, softer this time, "this is _me_ you're talking to. I know you, remember? Why don't you try being honest for once."

The redhead raised her eyeline to meet his, a slight blush spreading over her cheeks as she sighed gently.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just… I don't even know how I'm feeling. It's been a weird 24 hours. This time yesterday I was barely on speaking terms with Jasmine, and now she's here meeting my daughter? So much has changed, and I don't really know how I'm supposed to deal with it."

Jonny smiled empathetically, reaching his hand out to grasp hers. "It's completely normal to feel overwhelmed by it all, Jac. Hell, I'd be amazed if you weren't. Like you said, a lot's changed, and you're not exactly great at dealing with emotions at the best of times." At this, the corner of Jac's mouth quirked up in amusement. "But you have to face these feelings head on – it's the only way this is going to work. You can't just bury your head in the sand this time, not when you're getting another chance at making things right. We both know this is what you've wanted for a long time, so you have to be open and try, no matter how hard it is."

The redhead nodded softly. "I'm trying," she replied. "I really am. I want this to work – I want to get to know my sister. But this is all so new to me, and I'm terrified I'll mess it up like I always do."

Jonny began to rub comforting circles on her hands. "I know you are, and I know it's not. But you said you'd opened up to her a bit last night, yes?"

An almost imperceptible nod.

"And you explained to her why you struggle to _be_ open with people, and she tried to understand?"

Another nod.

"Well, there you go then! That's a huge step in the right direction. You're doing amazingly so far, Jac. I'm so proud of you." The redhead squeezed his hand, a small smile gracing her lips as she blinked back unexpected tears which had begun to form in the corner of her eyes. She rarely allowed herself to get emotional, but ever since the incident with Jasmine the day before she felt like she'd done nothing but cry – luckily, they were happy tears this time. Nobody had ever seen the good in her like Jonny did; he always knew just how to encourage and reassure her, even now, for which she'd be forever grateful.

"Thank you for agreeing to bring Emma back early. It means a lot that you're here." She spoke quietly, as Jonny shook his head in response.

"It's not a problem. We're a team, yes? That's what we agreed when Emma was born, and no matter what's happened between us, that's not going to change. And besides," his tone became more serious, "Jasmine is yours and Emma's family, which makes her part of mine, too. I'm so glad that Emma's getting the chance to know her auntie – she'll never know what it's like to feel alone and unloved the way we did, and nothing could make me happier."

Jac's heart swelled as she listened to his speech, Jonny's words reflecting her own mind. Since the moment their daughter was born, Jac had cared about nothing more than making sure her child would never suffer like she and Jonny both had, and that Emma's childhood had been a safe and mostly happy one so far was one of her proudest achievements. As Jonny finished speaking, the two lapsed into a companionable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

"You know, if someone had told me five years ago that I'd be sat here watching my sister and my child playing together I'd never have believed them in a million years," Jac mused. She was speaking more to herself than to him, Jonny realised, and so he stayed quiet, maintaining his comforting hold on her pale hands. "Ever since I was 12, since the moment that woman abandoned me, I thought I'd be alone forever. I really did. I didn't know how to love or how to be happy, and I didn't think I deserved either of those things. But then you came along, and then Emma, and now Jasmine."

Jonny felt a surge of pride at hearing her speak so openly – it was a refreshing change from her often closed-off persona. He'd watched her grow and flourish more than she'd ever realise in the years since their first meeting, and she'd never truly know how proud she made him on a daily basis. If there was one thing Jonny knew for sure, it was that Jac Naylor would always be the best thing that ever happened to him (besides becoming a father, of course).

"And look at us now," he continued as Jac trailed off, following her eyeline to see Jasmine and Emma chasing each other around the park, giggling madly. As she turned back to him, Jonny saw an unmistakeable flash of emotion etched across her face. Resting his hand on her shoulder briefly, Jonny turned away and made to stand up.

"Shall I go get us some coffee?" he suggested. The redhead nodded, a rush of gratitude running through her as she realised that he was offering her a moment alone without having to ask and admit her weakness. "Please," she murmured appreciatively. Jonny made to walk away, then paused. "Should I ask Jasmine if she wants anything?" Jac considered it for a moment. She felt bad not asking the younger woman, but she didn't want her (or Emma, for that matter) to intrude on her moment of solitude. "No, don't interrupt them. Just get her the same as me, I'm sure she'll drink it."

With a nod, Jonny set off towards the café, leaving Jac alone to compose herself.

* * *

Jasmine and Emma were huddled in a corner of the climbing frame, "hiding from Mummy" according to Emma (although the blonde had exchanged an amused glance with Jac across the park at this, and knew that the redhead was only humouring her daughter). Luckily for her though, they were far enough away from her sister that Jasmine was comfortable interacting with Emma without feeling conscious of being overheard, which made things much easier than she'd expected.

"Jasmine?"

The blonde looked across at her niece, the two having abandoned their game of princesses for a break (Jasmine wouldn't admit it, but running around after a 3 year old even for ten minutes was exhausting).

"Yes, Emma?"

"How you and Mummy know each other? I forgot," the little girl asked curiously. The young woman shifted her legs so that she was facing Emma properly – she wanted to make the most of the time they had together.

"I work with your mummy at the hospital. Mo and Zosia too," Jasmine replied. Emma's eyes widened.

"You a doctor too? Like Mummy?"

"Kind of. I'm still training, but hopefully one day I'll be as good as her." Emma clapped her hands together enthusiastically.

"Yay! Mummy the best doctor in the whole world!" she exclaimed. "And the best Mummy," she added as an afterthought, showing off her cheeky grin. Jasmine found it adorable how enamoured the little girl was with Jac – for all her faults and pretensions, her sister was clearly an incredible mother, and Jasmine couldn't blame Emma for idolising her. Especially when she'd been guilty of the same thing herself ever since she'd found out the older woman existed.

"I bet she is," Jasmine agreed. "So what about you, Emma? What do you like doing?" The child's face lit up, thrilled that somebody new was taking an interest in her.

"I like princesses and dancing and sparkly things!" she enthused. "And teddies, and Mummy reading me stories, and Daddy doing funny voices, and chocolate!" The blonde lapped up every word, wanting to find out as much about her niece as she possibly could. She already had such a strong personality – Jasmine supposed she shouldn't really be surprised by that, she was Jac's daughter after all – and it melted her heart that Emma was so willing to talk to her, having only just met her. Her sister really had done an amazing job raising such a well-rounded little girl.

"Well that all sounds fun!" Jasmine laughed, reaching out to tickle Emma who giggled and squirmed out of her grasp. "You know, I went to ballet classes when I was your age, too." Emma looked at her in fascination.

"Really?" she gasped. "I not go to classes yet, Mummy and Daddy say I too young. But I want to!" As she spoke, cogs began to turn in the blonde's mind. Maybe over time she could try to persuade Jac and Jonny to let Emma start dance classes? It was something she could bond with her niece over, something she could pass onto her. She made a mental note to raise the issue at some point further down the line, when she felt comfortable enough around Jac to do so – yes, things had gone incredibly well over the past 24 hours, but she definitely wasn't ready for that kind of step yet.

Before Jasmine had managed to formulate a response, Emma leapt to her feet and began to climb down the steps.

"Break time over. Let's play tig!" the little girl squealed, running away from her new playmate as fast as her legs would carry her. Jasmine chuckled, following suit. "Yes, boss," she teased. _God, she really is Jac's daughter,_ she thought to herself as she began to chase after her niece.

* * *

"One coffee for m'lady!"

Jac jumped as the warm cardboard cup was placed down on the bench in front of her. She hurriedly locked her phone, not wanting Jonny to see that she'd been sneakily taking picture after picture of Jasmine and Emma for the past ten minutes. As he sat down beside her, however, Jonny gave her a knowing grin.

"You don't have to cover up the fact you've been taking pictures of them, Jac. They're your family!"

Jac scoffed. "Well, yeah, but how do you reckon Jasmine would feel knowing I've basically been spying on her all afternoon? She's wary enough of me as it is."

"Maybe, but she doesn't seem like someone who'd be easily embarrassed." Jonny pondered.

"No, she's not. Well, from what I know of her anyway. But I think she's more insecure than a lot of people realise."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Jonny teased gently, at which Jac rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "No, but honestly, I'm sure she'll be pleased you've captured today on camera. Meeting her niece is an important moment for her, and it's lovely that you'll all have those memories to look back on." The redhead nodded in acceptance.

"I guess. We better shout her over before her coffee gets cold… She probably needs a break from Emma by now, anyway," she smirked. "Jasmine!"

At the sound of her voice, the heads of her sister and daughter turned in unison, causing Jonny to suppress a laugh.

"There's a coffee here for you if you want it," Jac carried on, trying not to laugh herself as her sister tried to negotiate with Emma, who wasn't impressed that their game was being cut short. Eventually, Jasmine made her way over to them, Emma screaming "tig!" one last time as she ran past them to the slide.

"Why do I get the feeling these two together are going to run me ragged?" Jac asked rhetorically, earning a grin from Jonny as Jasmine plonked herself down on the other side of the table. He chuckled.

"Welcome to my world."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I've been working on this chapter all week, but somebody pointed out to me this morning that today is 4 months since Jasmine's death so it felt appropriate to post. I miss her so much /3**

 **This chapter is v fluffy and I'm not even sorry, we were cheated of bonding moments between the three of them on screen so it only feels right to reimagine them now. One more chapter left of this part, and then we'll skip forward in time a little bit! I want to show the development of their relationship properly but also move the story on a little, so as always let me know any ideas or suggestions you might have.** **Also the ending of this chapter is pretty shitty, I couldn't get it to finish off properly so sorry about that.**

 **Hope you enjoy, please r &r or drop me a message on here/tumblr! (my url is now jasminesnaylor btw)**

 **Katie x**

"Look out, here comes trouble," Jonny joked as he spotted his daughter running over to where he, Jac and Jasmine were sat. The three had spent the past ten minutes chatting whilst Emma entertained herself, which had mostly consisted of Jonny quizzing Jasmine on her medical career and hopes for the future. Jac had stayed quiet for the majority of the conversation, plagued by feelings of guilt at how her mistreatment had shaped Jasmine's experience of Holby thus far, but the young woman herself had determinedly steered clear of anything that could bring up unresolved issues, preferring instead to regale them with tales from her university days and the horrors of her past placements. Jasmine had been animatedly reenacting the dilemma of one particular patient that had even Jac chuckling when Jonny interrupted them, and she immediately stopped talking, trying to rein in the laughter threatening to escape.

"Yes, it would probably be a good idea if we didn't scar my child _quite_ so early on," Jac offered sardonically. She looked pointedly at her sister, trying to be stern but as soon as Jasmine caught her eye she could no longer restrain herself. Both women burst out laughing as Emma came to a halt beside them.

"Why you laughing?" the three year old demanded, looking put out that she'd been excluded from whatever had caused them so much amusement. As Jasmine spluttered and Jac tried to pull herself together, Jonny quirked an eyebrow in their direction.

"Jasmine was just telling Mummy a joke, wasn't she?" he encouraged, silently thrilled to see how well the two were getting on although he tried not to show it. The redhead inhaled deeply. "Yes, she was." Emma furrowed her brow, not wanting to be left out. "Tell me, tell me!" she squealed. Jasmine glared at the Scot across the table – she obviously couldn't tell Emma the real story, so she'd just have to make something up.

"Erm, okay… Why are pirates called pirates? Because they arrrrrrr!"

It was the first thing that popped into her head – she'd always been useless at remembering jokes, but whilst working on Keller Sacha had frequently tried to cheer her up with a barrage of tragic one-liners, this being one of them. She looked up to see Emma giving her an unimpressed stare, Jac and Jonny at either side of her trying to suppress their laughter once more.

"That's boring. Come play again! You too Mummy," Emma turned her back to them and headed in the direction of the swings. Jonny nudged the redhead, encouraging her to stand up. "Go on, I'll watch the stuff for a while. You go with little miss comedy over here," he winked, causing Jasmine to roll her eyes in amusement.

"Well what was I supposed to say? You put me on the spot and it was all I could think of," she moaned, pulling herself to her feet. Jac scoffed. "If that's the best you can do then we've got a problem."

"Oh, hark at Sarah Millican over here," Jasmine retorted jokingly. "I didn't realise you're a comedy queen too."

"I can't help being good at everything," Jac singsonged as they made their way over to Emma.

Jonny watched their retreating backs, listening to the natural banter between the two. They were already acting like sisters – joking together, bickering, but with no malicious intent behind it, somewhat of a rarity wheres Jac was concerned. Even over the short time he'd spent with them that morning, Jonny could see a real relationship beginning to form, and Jac seemed to be relaxing into it more as time passed, allowing Jasmine to tease her without reverting to her usual defence mechanisms. It was a start, at least.

Watching the two women take turns pushing Emma on the swings, Jonny pondered his options for a minute. Jac had never particularly liked having her picture taken, usually quick to point out her flaws in each snap despite Jonny's protestations that she looked beautiful. However, he knew that her favourite photos were the candid ones he'd taken of her and Emma over the years – the poignant moments captured which seemed to show her at her most relaxed and happy. And given her rather uncharacteristic actions earlier on, Jonny was sure that Jac would appreciate him taking a few pictures of her together with her daughter and sister, whether she'd admit it or not. She and Jasmine had already missed out on decades of memories that should have been shared, milestones that should have been experienced together - today was the start of rebuilding what they could have had, and he was determined to do everything he could to make the day as special as possible. Capturing their first day as a family on camera would allow them to look back on the memories forever.

* * *

"Wow, I didn't realise how exhausting kids are. I don't know how you do it." Jasmine confessed as the sisters made their way back over to Jonny's table, Emma traipsing alongside them. Having never really spent any time with children before, the afternoon had given the blonde a newfound respect for her sister – how she managed to bring up a child whilst being a workaholic and retaining her title as one of the best surgeons in the country was anyone's guess. Jac shrugged. "You just get used to it. It's normal for me now." She glanced down at her daughter, who appeared to have lost her boundless energy from earlier on. "I think you've worn her out," she joked, causing Jasmine to chuckle. "More like she's worn me out!"

As they approached Jonny, he stood up, pulling on his jacket. "Looks like we have a tired princess," he smiled, as the smallest redhead threw herself melodramatically onto the bench, yawning. "I was just going to come and find you, actually. I'm going to have to head off now, I need to call into town before my shift."

Jac nodded. "That's fine, we won't be long ourselves judging by the state of madam here." She moved closer to Jonny, taking hold of his hand – a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Jasmine, who smirked to herself before tactfully averting her eyes. "Thanks again for today. I really appreciate it."

"I told you, it's not a problem. You know where I am, you know, if you need anything." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before removing it from her grasp and moving away.

"Emma, Daddy's going now. Say goodbye, please," Jac instructed. The little girl raised her arms for a hug. "Bye Daddy," she mumbled tiredly. "Love you." All three adults smiled at the interaction. "I love you too sweetheart," Jonny replied, before turning his attention to Jasmine. "And you – it was lovely to meet you! I get the feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on," he teased gently.

"Likewise," the younger woman replied somewhat bashfully. That she had Jonny's seal of approval meant a hell of a lot – she'd seen the two of them talking earlier, and figured Jac must've confided in him. So to know that he believed they could make it work was a definite step in the right direction.

As Jonny left, the two women slipped onto the bench, Jasmine taking her place beside Emma. Just as Jac opened her mouth to speak, her phone rang. "I'd better take this," she sighed, turning her back on the two of them. "I would say keep an eye on her, but I doubt she'll be moving far." Jasmine nodded her acceptance and glanced across to her niece, who was clearly fighting sleep, as Jac walked away.

"Are you okay, Emma?" she asked gently, eliciting a quiet "mmmm" from the young girl as she rubbed her eyes blearily. "Tired," she elaborated, shuffling closer to Jasmine. Before she knew it, Emma had manouvered herself onto Jasmine's lap and curled up against her chest, eyes fluttering shut. Jasmine had to fight back the rush of emotion she felt as her niece's warm body rested against her own, the overwhelming connection she felt with the little girl at that moment taking her by surprise. _Keep it together, Jasmine,_ she told herself. _It's not a big deal. Okay, it's a massive deal, but don't make it one. Just breathe._ Her arms automatically clasped around Emma, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She wondered if this is what Jac had felt like the first time she held her daughter? After all, this was her first real bonding moment with Emma, the one she would've had when the girl was just a newborn had circumstances been different. Closing her eyes, Jasmine took a moment to absorb everything she was feeling, sure that once her sister returned the moment would be cut short and unsure when she'd next be able to experience something like this.

This was how Jac found the two a few minutes later as she arrived back, her heart leaping at the sight. Her daughter, clearly at the stage of tiredness she knew from experience brought the most tender moments, snuggled into Jasmine like she'd known her all her life. It was in that moment that the redhead knew for definite she was doing the right thing by building a relationship with her sister – Emma wasn't even aware of the circumstances surrounding their relationship yet, but it was clear that she was completely taken with the blonde, and vice versa. Jac didn't want to intrude on such a precious moment, but she knew this was a memory so special she needed to capture it. Quickly pulling her phone from her coat pocket, she took a number of shots before sitting back down opposite the two, knowing she had to interrupt their bonding time soon but wanting to hold onto the moment for as long as possible.

Feeling the bench dip slightly, Jasmine's eyes snapped open almost comically, realising that Jac was watching them. A sudden feeling of panic overtook her – would she think Jasmine was rushing things, being too intimate with her daughter seeing as Emma didn't even know who she was yet? _What if she's mad?_ Her expression must have given her away, as Jac's gaze softened, a conflicted look of something Jasmine couldn't quite make out flickering across her face.

"Relax, Jasmine. It's fine," she spoke in a low voice, hoping not to wake her daughter. She tried to reassure the younger woman, who let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. Jasmine smiled, her cheeks flushed. "All I did was ask her if she was okay, and the next thing I knew she'd crawled onto my lap."

"She must really like you then, she's never usually this clingy so early on," the redhead replied gently. They sat for a few moments in amicable silence.

"We should probably head off," Jac spoke. "No point us hanging around while she's asleep." Jasmine nodded her agreement, not wanting their outing to be over but knowing her sister had a point. "Do you want me to wake her?" The redhead shook her head. "No, let her sleep. With any luck she'll wake up once we're home and then she'll still sleep tonight too. If I carry her can you get the bags?"

"Sure. Are you sure you don't want me to carry her?" Jasmine asked half-heartedly. Jac smirked, expertly prising the little girl from her sister's grasp and placing her on her hip. Emma didn't even stir, curling into Jac's side seamlessly as Jasmine watched in awe. "It's just easier for me to take her, I won't wake her up by moving her. Sorry," she offered sincerely, "it's not that I don't trust you with her." Jasmine nodded in assurance. "It's fine, I get it. You don't have to justify yourself." Standing up and grabbing their bags, she moved to her sister's side as the three began their journey home.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter, but I needed it to finish off the first section of the story so I can finally move time along! I'm not too keen on this one tbh, but hopefully it will be ok to bridge the gap. Updates will still be few and far between for a while as I'm so busy with uni, but I'll do my best!**

 **As always, please leave a review or send me a message (jasminesnaylor on tumblr) to let me know your thoughts, it really does mean a lot to know people still read and appreciate this. Also if you have any suggestions/prompts, I'm always open to more ideas!**

 **Hope you enjoy xo**

"Taxi should be here soon," Jac announced, placing a mug of tea into Jasmine's outstretched hands before sitting down herself.

"Thanks," the younger woman accepted the drink gratefully. "And you didn't have to do that, you know. I could've just walked, it's not that far." Jac pulled a face.

"Your flat is at least a half hour walk from here, and besides, I'd rather you not collapse again on the way home."

Jasmine rolled her eyes from her spot on the floor, secretly pleased at her sister's obvious concern. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered in faux-annoyance, the corners of her mouth quirking up betraying her true feelings.

As they sipped at their tea - both relishing the peacefulness of the moment after a rather hectic few hours - Jasmine's gaze fell upon her niece, engrossed in some tv show playing in the background. If somebody had told her 24 hours previously that she'd have spent the day at her sister's house getting to know her family, she'd have laughed in their faces. But truthfully, this was the best day she'd had in a long time – finally getting the chance to make up for lost time.

The sound of a horn beeping outside suddenly startled Jasmine to her senses. She must've zoned out for a few minutes, as her taxi appeared to have arrived already. Hurriedly pulling herself to her feet, she scanned the room to check she'd picked everything up.

"Emma, Jasmine has to go now. Are you going to say bye-bye?" Jac crouched down to her daughter, who instantly jumped up to hug her new friend.

"Bye-bye Jasmine. You play with me again soon?" The child's words tugged at both women's heartstrings. The blonde leant down to reciprocate the cuddle, wishing she didn't have to leave and unsure of how to reply. Not wanting to make any promises she couldn't keep, she glanced nervously at Jac.

"I'm sure Jasmine will come and play with you again soon, I'll sort something out with her ok?" Jac replied nonchalantly, earning a satisfied nod from the toddler before she lost interest and turned back to her show. Jasmine knew that on some level the comment was also aimed at her, however, and she breathed a sigh of relief at her sister's answer, reassured that Jac wanted to keep her involved in Emma's life. The blonde gave her niece one last wave goodbye and headed for the door, Jac following closely behind. As they reached the threshold, the younger woman paused hesitantly.

"I just wanted to say thank you again for last night. You know, for letting me stay and all that. And for today. I really do appreciate it so much, Jac. I know I haven't made things easy for you, but I really hope things will be better now," she finished, a tone of hopefulness and gratitude evident in her voice. Jac met her gaze with a quiet chuckle.

"What kind of sister would I be if I hadn't let you stay?" she joked gently. Not wanting Jasmine to think she was brushing over her words, she elaborated. "And I owe you a thank you, too. Thank you for trying to understand how I feel and for giving me another chance, even though I'm not sure I deserve one." The two shared a gentle smile before Jasmine offered a tentative suggestion.

"So where do we go from here? Do we still act like we don't know each other at work? Everyone knows our story, they're going to ask questions if we start being all pally…" she trailed off.

Jac thought for a moment. "Let's not worry about that. We'll just see how it goes. We have each other's numbers, right?" Jasmine nodded – they'd exchanged them as soon as they'd got back from the park, realising it would be almost impossible to keep up a relationship without being able to contact each other outside the hospital. "We'll go to work as normal, except this time we'll try to work together a bit more, not against each other. Let's take it from there."

* * *

"Did you have a good day today, Emma?" Jac asked, tucking her daughter into bed. After Jasmine had left, the two had made the most of the consultant's unexpected afternoon off by snuggling on the sofa watching cartoons – it was rare for Jac to have a completely free day with no admin or paperwork to worry about, and if she was honest she'd actually enjoyed it. _Maybe Mo was right about not working so hard,_ she'd thought to herself as she made dinner. _Not that I'd ever tell her that._

However, Jac had spent the past few hours distracted by thoughts of her sister and the situation they now found themselves in. Although she'd told Jasmine it was best if Emma didn't find out who she was yet, seeing how quickly the little girl had taken to her had caused her to question whether she was going about things the right way. Eventually, she'd concluded that the sooner she told the little girl the truth, the less confusing it would be for her. Plus, it seemed cruel to make Jasmine wait even longer to properly bond with her niece – it had been obvious that morning that her sister already adored Emma, but she wouldn't feel entirely comfortable around her until everything was out in the open. No, it was better for everyone involved if Jac told her tonight.

"Yes! It was fun!" Emma exclaimed happily, clutching her hands together. Her enthusiasm was infectious, Jac noted, as a smile grew on her own face.

"I'm glad you had a good day, sweetheart. Now, it's almost bedtime, but first Mummy has something to tell you. It's very important, so you have to listen carefully. Do you think you can do that?" Emma nodded determinedly, her little face becoming serious. Jac took a moment to control her nerves, suddenly conscious that once the words had come out, their lives would change for good.

"You know Jasmine, who came to play with you today?" Another nod. "Well, she's not just Mummy's friend. She's actually Mummy's sister." The real story was obviously much more elaborate and confusing than the version Jac was giving her daughter, but she'd decided to simplify it for Emma to understand. Maybe when she was older they'd tell her the whole truth, but not any time soon.

"Like Elsa and Anna?"

The redhead gave a muffled laugh. Of _course_ Emma would relate their situation back to Disney princesses – though if it helped her to understand it, Jac wasn't complaining.

"Yes, like Elsa and Anna. Do you know what else that means, Emma?" The little girl shook her head in confusion. "It means that Jasmine is your auntie."

"What does auntie mean?" Emma frowned. Jac pondered for a moment – how could she explain it to her three-year-old without her asking too many questions?

"It means that she's part of your family, like me and Daddy. Is that ok?" She could see the cogs turning in Emma's mind as she tried to piece together this new information, always looking at things logically even at such a young age.

"Yes… Will she still play with me?" Jac's heart melted a little at this. Her daughter was such an outgoing little girl (clearly she didn't get that from her), and Jasmine had obviously made a huge impact on her already.

"Yes, of course she will, sweetheart," she reassured Emma. "We'll be seeing a lot more of her from now on. And being your auntie means she'll want to spend lots of time with you."

"Yay!" the little girl exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across her tired face. "This week?" Jac chuckled at her daughter's enthusiasm.

"Maybe not this week, Mummy and Jasmine are both very busy at work. How about next week? We could invite her for tea?"

"Yes! Please Mummy!"

"Okay, I'll speak to her tomorrow. But only if you calm down and go to sleep now, like a good girl," she soothed, gently smoothing down Emma's hair. To her surprise, the girl immediately snuggled down under the covers.

"I be a good girl, Mummy. I promise."

As Jac kissed her daughter goodnight and left the room, she felt much lighter, like a weight had been lifted. Now that Emma knew who Jasmine really was, perhaps they could start to become a real family after all.

* * *

Jac's hopes that Emma would fall asleep straight away were proved correct despite the excitement of the day – she must've exhausted herself with all the running around, not to mention the fairly heavy conversation they'd had. Pouring herself a small glass of wine (she figured she deserved it after the couple of days she'd had), the redhead collapsed onto the sofa, aimlessly flicking through the channels until settling on Friends reruns. Shooting a quick text to Jonny to thank him again for being so welcoming to Jasmine, Jac's finger hovered over her sister's contact. She could just leave it until the morning and catch her at work, but part of Jac realised that Jasmine deserved to know that Emma knew the truth now – she was sure it'd quell any remaining doubts the younger woman had about the past few days. Deciding to go for it, she began typing.

 _Hi, it's Jac. I know we agreed it was best for you to get to know Emma before we told her who you were, but seeing you with her today made me realise that wasn't fair on either of you. I told her at bedtime and she took it well, she seems to understand so that's good. She can't wait to see you again. Maybe we can arrange something tomorrow in your lunch break? x_

Within seconds, her phone pinged with a reply. She'd forgotten just how desperate Jasmine had always been to have some kind of connection with her – the girl must have been waiting hopefully all evening to hear from her. For the first time, Jac was beginning to understand how she felt.

 _Oh wow, really? She wasn't confused? Let's face it, it's not exactly straightforward! I can't wait to see her either, sounds like a plan x_

Jac smiled to herself.

 _She asked a few questions, but nothing too extreme. I think she'll be ok. See you tomorrow. x_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, the last few weeks at uni have been absolutely brutal and I also started my new job so I've had barely any time to write. Buuuuut, deadlines are over now until Christmas so here's an extra long chapter to make up for the wait!**

 **I'm not sure whether I'll be updating this fic again before Christmas or not, because I'm hoping to get a new festive story going in the next week or so and obviously that will take priority up until Christmas. But I'll keep working on this too, so please bear with!As always, message me on here or tumblr (jasminesnaylor) with any ideas/thoughts etc and please leave a review if you can because they really do make my day.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

Despite their best intentions, it was another two weeks until Jasmine finally made it round to her sister's for dinner. Both women had been absolutely snowed under at the hospital, Jac hard at work researching her next proposal whilst Serena kept Jasmine busy preparing for her next assessment. They'd bumped into each other a couple of times at work, much to the surprise of several colleagues who had stumbled across them sharing a civil conversation in the corridor – Morven and Mo, of course, knew their situation and were thrilled to see them making progress, but poor Ollie had been baffled when he'd found them making dinner arrangements one morning. Although they weren't actively trying to keep it secret, neither woman had spoken to anyone else about what had happened but it seemed the rumours had made their way around the hospital despite this. Indeed, almost everyone had noticed the change in both Jac and Jasmine – both seemed lighter now that the atmosphere around them was no longer fraught with past tensions.

By the time Friday rolled around, Jasmine was more than ready for a night off. She'd been working late every day for a week, which meant she hadn't been eating regularly or getting much sleep, and she'd barely seen Jac either – the older woman usually steered clear of night shifts unless unavoidable, for obvious reasons. It had been a long few days and she was exhausted, the prospect of a nice home-cooked meal (something of a luxury to her) and an evening with her sister and niece keeping her going through her shift. She'd been clock-watching since around noon, but now it was finally nearing hometime and all she wanted was for time to speed up so she could leave.

As soon as her shift finished, Jasmine rushed towards the locker room. She'd promised Jac she'd be round by half 5 and didn't want to be late, especially as she knew how excited Emma was to see her. In her rush, she failed to notice a figure approaching as she almost jogged down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" Serena's voice rang out, causing the blonde to halt in her tracks. "I thought you were supposed to be working tonight. I was going to test you on what we've been over so far."

"No, I was never working tonight. I have plans, actually, so…" she trailed off, hoping Serena would get the hint and let her get on. The brunette's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, and what would these plans be? A hot date? I don't remember you mentioning anything about a new bloke," Serena teased. Jasmine blushed.

"Not exactly, no. I'm, um, going to Jac's for dinner," she replied. At this, her boss pulled a puzzled expression.

"Ah, so the rumours are true then? I thought something must've happened between the two of you when she emailed me last week about you needing the day off. I did think you might have told me yourself, though."

Jasmine detected a slight tone of hurt in her mentor's voice, and immediately felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry, Serena. I didn't mean to keep it from you, it's just… We're not exactly shouting it from the rooftops, you know? It's still early days, and the last thing we need is the entire hospital knowing our business," she apologised. Serena nodded acceptingly.

"That sounds very sensible, given your history. But you do know you can talk to me about anything, don't you?" she elaborated gently. "I know things were difficult between us for a while, but I hope we've moved past that now. I can't help but feel the need to look out for you."

The blonde smiled, reaching out to touch the older woman's arm. "We have, don't worry. And I really appreciate it. But I think I'll be ok. Jac's really trying, we both are, and I think we're getting there."

"Just go careful, won't you? I've known your sister for a long time, I know how she works. She'll keep pushing and pushing even if she doesn't mean to, it's what she does best. I don't want you to get hurt."

Jasmine let her hand fall from Serena's grasp. "What, and you think I'm not prepared for that? Trust me, I know what she's like. She's told me herself. And I know it's not going to be smooth sailing all the way. But she's my _sister_! The woman I've spent my entire life waiting to get to know, and no matter how much she pushes I'm not going anywhere. I'm old enough and wise enough to make my own choices, and I know I'm doing the right thing," she finished determinedly.

Serena sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I know you are. I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn. I just want to see you happy, Jasmine – you deserve that."

"And so does Jac," the younger woman murmured softly, smiling ruefully. Serena reached out to squeeze her hand.

"So does Jac," she agreed. "You both deserve this. Now get yourself off, missy. Don't keep your sister waiting any longer."

* * *

"Jasmine! You came!"

Jasmine had barely removed her hand from her sister's front door when it was flung wide open to reveal an overexcited Emma, jumping up and down in the entrance.

"Of course I did! Hi, princess," she smiled, stepping over the threshold and leaning down to pick up her niece, whose arms were already outstretched. "Where's Mummy?" she asked, reaching behind her to shut the door.

"In the kitchen," came a muffled shout from down the hall. Kicking off her shoes (which proved more difficult than she'd anticipated whilst balancing a three-year-old in her arms), Jasmine followed her voice and found her sister at the stove, stirring a pan of something that smelt heavenly.

"Hey," Jac greeted Jasmine, her face lighting up at the sight of her and Emma. "Good day?"

"Not bad. Had an emergency appendectomy, but nothing else exciting," she replied. "Sorry I'm late, by the way. Serena caught me on my way out." Emma had begun to wriggle in her arms so she bent down to put her on the floor.

"Emma, go and wash your hands please. Dinner's almost ready," Jac instructed, watching the little girl toddle off before turning back to Jasmine. "Oh really? Did she have anything to say?"

"She was asking about us, actually. Said she'd heard we were on better terms now but wasn't sure if it was true."

Jac scrutinised her sister's demeanour – she looked almost embarrassed to continue, and the redhead knew instantly what must've happened. "Let me guess, she warned you that I'll hurt you and you should steer clear? You're not going to upset me by telling me the truth, you know. I won't blame you."

Jasmine shook her head. "Well, kind of. She just told me to be careful, and that she's just looking out for me. I suppose it's quite sweet, really. But I told her there was no need to worry, that I know what I'm doing and that it'll all be fine."

"I don't blame her for wanting to warn you. It's nice that you have someone looking out for you."

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't need her to protect me from you. We're in this together," she reminded her sister, who smiled gently at her before changing the subject.

"Anyway, you're just in time. I was about to start dishing up when you knocked. Have a seat, it'll only be a minute," she indicated, as Emma skidded back into the room and climbed up onto her chair eagerly.

"Thanks, Jac," Jasmine smiled gratefully, sliding into a seat beside her niece. "What are we having?"

"Spaghetti Bolognese," the redhead replied as she plated up a smaller portion and placed it in front of her daughter. "I'm not exactly a domestic goddess, but even I can do a mean spag bol."

"It my favourite," Emma informed Jasmine seriously, already shovelling pasta onto her fork messily. Jasmine laughed. "Mine too," she replied, causing Emma to cheer loudly and Jac to roll her eyes good-naturedly as she passed Jasmine her plate. _I'm not sure who's worse, Emma or Jasmine,_ she thought to herself in amusement as the two high fived. Shaking her head, she sat down opposite them and began to tuck in.

* * *

"Mmm, that was gorgeous, Jac," Jasmine sighed contentedly, leaning back in her chair. "It's so nice to have a home-cooked meal for once." The older woman raised her eyebrows.

"As opposed to a packet of crisps and a muffin from Pulses, you mean? I presume that's what you've been living on this week."

"Well, that and coffee. I hate cooking for myself at the best of times, never mind when I'm on nights," the blonde said defensively. Jac grimaced in understanding.

"I'm the same, to be honest with you. But you do need to start eating like a proper adult. It can't be good for you living on junk food." Jasmine rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh.

"Okay, okay. I'll try," she offered. "I'm not promising anything, though.' As Jac stood up, reaching across the table for their plates, Emma, clearly bored of their conversation, piped up.

"Mummy, I go play now please?" she asked politely.

"Yes, Emma, you may. Thank you for asking so nicely," the redhead replied, watching as her daughter clambered carefully down from her seat and skidded into the living room.

"She really is such a lovely kid, Jac," Jasmine murmured, joining her sister by the sink. Her sister made a gentle noise of agreement.

"Oh, she has her moments – believe me. But overall I couldn't ask for anything more. Every day I look at her and I just can't believe she's mine."

The tone of pride and adoration in her voice warmed Jasmine's heart- she hadn't been in their lives for long at all, but there was no doubt in her mind that Jac was the best mother she'd ever known. The kind of mother she'd always longed for, one who showered her with affection and always put her first, and would never leave her. _Emma is so lucky,_ she found herself thinking. _She'll never know what it's like to feel unloved by the woman who's supposed to protect you._

"Mummy! Auntie Jasmine!"

At the sound of the little girl's voice, both women turned instantly to each other, the bowl Jasmine had been holding slipping out of her hands as she started. She could only imagine the look on her face right now – where Jac looked slightly shocked, but wore a smile that was growing by the second, Jasmine was sure the disbelief she felt was written all over her face.

"Did she just-?" the younger woman stuttered, momentarily lost for words (which both amused Jac no end and tugged on her heartstrings – Jasmine was the biggest chatterbox she'd ever met, second only perhaps to Chantelle Lane, so for her to be speechless was a big deal). As she looked into her sister's eyes, she noticed a glassy sheen of tears.

"I believe she did," she replied with a soft chuckle.

"Did you tell her to call me that? Because I don't want her to feel pressured into it or anything, I know it's a lot to take in…" Jasmine rambled, until Jac cut her off mid-sentence. "Jasmine, relax. I didn't tell her to call you anything. She asked if she should call you auntie, but I told her it was her choice and that you wouldn't mind whatever she called you. I have to say, though, I didn't think she'd go there so soon. You must've really made an impression."

"Wow," Jasmine breathed. "That's-… this is-…" Seeing how overwhelmed the blonde seemed, Jac reached across and placed a hand on top of hers.

"I know it's a lot to take in. But it's a good thing, right? This is what you want?" Jasmine nodded furiously, trying to regain control of her emotions.

"Of course it is. It's just, I don't know… For so long, I never knew I even had a sister, let alone a niece. And then I found out, but no matter how much I dreamt I'd get to know you someday I never actually believed it would happen, you know? I never thought I'd get to hear those words."

"I get it," Jac replied, squeezing her hand gently. "I remember the first time she ever called me Mummy – I hadn't realised how much I'd longed to hear those words until they came out of her mouth, and I'll never forget the way it made me feel. It still does."

Pulling her hand away, Jasmine brushed at the tears that had begun to trickle down her cheeks. "Wow, sorry for being such a mess," she gave a watery chuckle. "Clearly tiredness and momentous occasions do not go together."

"You don't need to apologise, like I said, I get it." Jac's reply was interrupted by Emma shouting for them once more. "Now, why don't you go and see what face-ache wants before she starts screaming and I'll finish up here," she suggested.

"Are you sure? I can wash up if you like, do my bit," Jasmine asked, earning a look from her sister.

"Would I have said it if not? No, you're the guest. If you want to do me a favour, go distract Emma with a film so she starts winding down before bedtime, or I'll never get her down." Jasmine nodded, wiping away any last traces of tears before heading towards the living room.

* * *

"Mummy," whispered a little voice, drawing Jac's eyes away from the screen where Toy Story was playing quietly. The three of them had been sprawled on the sofa for the best part of an hour, enjoying each other's company and winding down before the weekend.

"Yes, baby?" She looked down at her daughter, who was cuddled into her side.

"Auntie Jasmine asleep, we have to be quiet. Ssssshhhh," Emma gestured to the other end of the sofa where sure enough, her sister appeared to have dozed off. Secretly amused, Jac had to smile at the little girl's thoughtfulness.

"You're right. Let's not wake her up - she's very tired. Speaking of which, I think it's almost your bedtime too, missy," she poked her daughter's side as she yawned.

"No," Emma frowned. "Want to stay with you and Auntie Jasmine." Jac sighed.

"Auntie Jasmine needs her bed too, sweetheart. As soon as you're asleep she'll be going home. Maybe another time, ok?" The little girl pondered for a moment.

"Can we have a sleepover soon, Mummy?"

"Maybe, if you're good. And that means going to bed now."

"Ok," Emma sighed dramatically, causing Jac to stifle a snigger. Her daughter really could be a drama queen sometimes. She watched, heart full, as her mini me leant across clumsily, planting a gentle kiss on Jasmine's forehead just as she herself did every time she put her daughter to bed.

"Come on, sweetheart," she said, pulling Emma into her arms. 'Let's go get you tucked in."

* * *

After successfully getting Emma to bed, Jac returned to find Jasmine awake, albeit somewhat bleary-eyed.

"Nice sleep?" Jac teased, noting the colour that appeared on her sister's cheeks. "You seem to be making a habit of falling asleep on my sofa these days."

"Oh god, sorry," the younger woman replied bashfully. "I didn't realise how tired I was, I can't believe I slept through the film! Was Emma upset with me?"

"No, of course not. Actually it helped me convince her to go to bed herself," Jac smirked. "She even gave you a goodnight kiss before she went."

Jasmine's heart swelled with love. "That's adorable."

"It was pretty adorable, I admit. But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it," she looked over pointedly, eliciting a good-natured eye roll from the blonde.

"Got it," she mock-saluted. "Anyway, I should be getting home now, leave you to your night."

Jac paused. "You could always stay here if you want? You're obviously tired, you could just take the spare room again," she offered, but her sister shook her head.

"Nah, it's fine. I could use a nice long sleep in my own bed after this week," she replied, checking her phone. "I'll get the bus. Thanks for the offer, though."

Jac bowed her head. "No problem. Thank you for coming tonight, Emma absolutely loved it. She's been talking about this non-stop since the last time she saw you."

"I loved it too, even though I didn't get much time with her. And it's nice getting to see you outside of work," Jasmine smiled bashfully as the two moved through to the hallway.

"You too. I know Serena's had you working overtime recently, but you need to take a break every now and then – you can't risk making yourself ill again. It's my weekend with Emma so I won't be in now until Monday, how about you?" Jac asked curiously.

"I'm there tomorrow just for a couple of hours, then working a double shift Monday too," the younger woman sighed. Jac pursed her lips.

"Right, well in that case I'm going to make sure you get a proper lunch break on Monday and eat something decent for once. Meet me in Pulses at 1, I'll square it with Serena. Ok?"

"Sounds good to me," Jasmine grinned. "I'd better be off. Buses to catch and all that… Thanks again for a lovely night." Pulling her coat from the hook and slipping into her Converse, she opened the door quietly so as not to wake the child upstairs. "Give Emma a kiss from me!"

"Will do," Jac smiled. "Monday at 1, remember? See you then." She watched her sister's retreating back, silently cheering at how well the night had gone. _I think we might be getting there now,_ she thought to herself. _And things can only keep getting better._


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This is a very Jas/Mo heavy chapter but it felt necessary for what's to come! Also, in canon Jac's birthday has changed a couple of times in the show, so just assume this is around the end of March sometime (so about 3 weeks after the fic starts). Also I hate writing dialogue so I hope this isn't too bad!**

 **Sorry about the long wait since the last chapter :( but I'm trying a new system this semester where I set aside a certain time to write each week and so far it's working! The next chapter is already half-written, so hopefully updates will be more regular from now on and the story will progress properly.**

 **It's been almost a year since I started this and I know I suck at updating, but I really hope people are still interested in reading it! I love writing it anyway, but it's always nice to know people appreciate the effort so reviews/messages of any kind are welcome (jasminesnaylor on tumblr and Kaaaaatie_x on twitter if you don't like reviewing on here).**

 **Hope you enjoy, please R &R! Next update will be soon I promise x**

Jasmine popped her head around the door to her sister's office, frowning upon the realisation that the redhead was nowhere to be seen. She knew Jac was scheduled on shift, but they hadn't actually arranged to see each other so she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised to be met with an empty room. _Maybe she was called into theatre_ , Jasmine wondered, knowing how in demand Jac's skills were and how busy the ward had been in recent weeks. Deciding to try and catch her at another time, Jasmine turned to leave but as she spun around, she bumped straight into somebody.

"Hey, Jazzmatazz!" Mo greeted her enthusiastically, moving past her to deposit a stack of folders on her desk before plonking herself down on the sofa. "You looking for Jac? She was called into theatre I'm afraid – one of her CABG's crashed post-op."

Jasmine nodded. "Yeah, I thought that's where she'd be. It's no big deal, I just thought I'd pop up to see her before I head home. I may as well get off though, no point hanging around when I have no idea what time she'll be finished. She didn't know I was coming anyway."

 _There must be a reason she came all the way up here,_ Mo mused. _She definitely looks shifty_ She studied the blonde curiously, patting the seat beside her in an attempt to make her stay _._

"Or you could make time for a catch up with Auntie Mo here? I haven't seen you in ages, you must have some gossip for me! Plus the only adult conversation I get these days is with your sister, and she's not exactly the most fun person to talk to," she joked, trying to encourage the girl to sit down. She'd heard a lot from Jac about the sisters' developing relationship, being that she was the consultant's main confidant these days, but Mo was intrigued to hear Jasmine's perspective on the matter.

"Yeah, "fun" isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe Jac," Jasmine chuckled, stepping back over the threshold and conceding defeat. "Go on then, it's not like I've got anything to rush home for. How is little Hector, anyway?"

"He's great, you'll have to come by for cuddles at some point!"

The blonde agreed eagerly, pleased at the prospect of growing closer to the woman she thought of a friend outside of work.

"I'm not gonna lie though, it's bloody hard work looking after him and still staying on top of things here," Mo continued. "Your sister's been a godsend letting me ease myself back in, and covering for me when I need her to. Underneath all the ice there's a heart of gold, you know," she looked pointedly at the blonde.

"I know. And I know she appreciates you too, more than she probably tells you. She doesn't trust many people but I'm glad she has you on her side," Jasmine replied, causing the brunette to smile knowingly.

"Me and Jac – it's complicated. It's not always been easy, but these days she's my closest friend without a doubt, maybe even more than Jonny. Trust has to be earned, especially when Jac's involved, but after everything we've been through the past few years I'd trust her with my life."

As Jasmine listened Mo speak so highly of Jac she felt a surge of pride, relieved that despite her issues with relationships the redhead had formed such a strong friendship with her fellow consultant. _Everybody needs a friend like Mo,_ she thought. _I'm glad Jac has her to talk to._

"And what about you and Jac?" Mo interrupted Jasmine's reverie, causing a puzzled expression to grace her pale features. "Are you getting any closer to trusting each other?"

Jasmine curled her feet underneath herself, leaning backwards slightly to look at her colleague.

"I think so," she confessed. "We have a lot of issues to work through, probably more than I even know about at this point, but we both know it's not going to be perfect straight away. It seems to be getting easier the more time we spend together, though. We're definitely getting there," she smiled bashfully at Mo, who shot her an understanding glance.

"You'll get there eventually. Sister relationships are never smooth-sailing, even when you've known each other forever. And I'm speaking from experience," she laughed.

"Really? Remind me to come to you next time we hit a stumbling block, then," Jasmine teased. There was a moment's pause before she spoke again.

"Actually, I've been meaning to come and find you. Would it… Can I ask you something about Jac?"

Mo narrowed her eyes as she studied the F1, who looked suddenly nervous. "That depends on what you're about to ask," she joked.

"It's nothing bad, I promise," Jasmine backtracked, not wanting it to seem like she was gossiping behind Jac's back – not that she thought Mo would tell on her, but if it got back to her sister she didn't want to think about how Jac would react.

"It's just… well, I don't know if you know this, but it's her birthday tomorrow."

"Yeah, I did know that. I'm surprised she told you though, Jac hates birthdays and especially hates people _knowing_ it's her birthday. She must be starting to feel comfortable with you to tell you that."

Jasmine frowned. "Why does she hate birthdays so much? I get that she doesn't like attention, but surely it's not that big a deal. It's only one day."

"That's something you'll have to ask her yourself, I'm afraid." Mo paused momentarily, studying Jasmine's sheepish expression. She sighed.

"Jac didn't tell you, did she? You looked it up."

"I did it ages ago, before I came here," Jasmine looked down at her hands, embarrassed. "I wanted to know everything about her the minute we met but Paula refused to even acknowledge her existence – well, other than to tell me I'd never be as brilliant as her, which is ironic seeing as Jac wasn't enough for her in the first place," she scoffed. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"Anyway, she banned me from having anything to do with Jac, said she'd ruin everything for me if I let her into my life, and for a while I believed her – I was just a kid. Jac wanted nothing to do with me either, of course. She wanted to pretend neither me nor my mother existed, and I don't blame her. Paula was never what you'd call a real mother, even to me – she abandoned me too in the end, wanted nothing to do with me once I'd turned 18 and she swanned off back to god knows where. And then she died, and I realised I hadn't really known her at all. I started questioning everything I thought I knew, and I decided to find out everything I could about Jac, hoping that eventually I'd have the chance to get to know her. Turns out that having one of the leading cardiothoracic surgeons in the country as a big sister means there's a lot you can find out on the internet."

Mo leant back over the arm of the chair, raising an eyebrow at Jasmine. "Wow, you were quite the stalker then."

"You say stalker, I say lonely young girl wanting to get to know her sister," the blonde mumbled, looking down once more.

At this, Mo reached over and rested her hand comfortingly on Jasmine's knee.

"I'm only teasing, babe. It's perfectly natural that you wanted to find out this kind of stuff, especially when you were denied it by your mother." The blonde smiled shyly, grateful for Mo's understanding nature. She knew it must sound crazy, but at the time all that had kept her going was the image she'd built in her head of Jac, and the thought that someday she'd get to know her.

Sensing Jasmine's embarrassment, Mo swiftly changed the subject before the conversation got too deep.

"Was that your question? Or was there something else?" Jasmine still looked unsure of herself but elaborated.

"I want to get her a birthday present," she confessed. "I've waited years to celebrate it with her, and now I finally can. But I have no idea what she'd like, and she doesn't even know that I _know_ , so I don't know what to do," she rambled.

"Woah, okay. Breathe, Jas," Mo squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'll help you. I'm sure we can sort something."

"Do you think she'll be mad if I get her something when she hasn't told me it's her birthday, though? You said she hates birthdays. I don't want to ruin her day," Jasmine fretted. Mo considered the question carefully.

"Nah, I don't think so," she shook her head. "What I said is true, she doesn't really do birthdays, but this is different. At work we don't acknowledge it but I know since Emma was born they've always celebrated as a family, I think she associates birthdays with happier memories these days." She smiled encouragingly at Jasmine.

"Honestly? She might act annoyed at first (this is Jac we're talking about), but I think she'd be thrilled that you cared enough to find out on your own when her birthday is, and that you took the time to get her something. Like you said, this is the first one you'll be celebrating together and that's a big milestone."

The F1 nodded appreciatively, secretly thrilled that Mo approved of her idea. In all honesty, she'd probably have gone ahead with it anyway had the consultant warned her off, but the reassurance that she was doing the right thing was welcome.

"I just don't know what to get her, though," she sighed. "It can't be anything too over-the-top, because it's still early days, you know? I don't want to push her too much. And nothing too expensive, I just can't afford it, but I don't want her to think I'm cheap either. Jac's used to the finer things in life, I can't compete with that!" She shook her head in frustration.

"Trust me, Jas," Mo encouraged the blonde. "Jac might not have to worry about money these days, but she isn't the least bit bothered about designer items or anything like that. She spent the first twenty-odd years of her life with pretty much nothing, remember, she's not one for material things. Something thoughtful would mean a lot more to her."

She wracked her brains for gift ideas Jac would appreciate from the younger woman – after 5 years she still found it hard to buy for the supposed "ice queen" herself, never mind think of presents from someone else. As she considered the options, however, a thought popped into her head and she grinned. _You're a genius, Maureen Effanga_.

"I've got an idea. I remember for her first birthday after Emma was born, Jonny made her a photo album full of pictures of the three of them. Jac told me later that it was the most special thing anybody had ever done for her, and I know she still treasures it. Maybe you could do something similar, print off a picture of the two of you and frame it? That way it won't cost you much, but I can guarantee you it'll mean more to her than anything you could buy."

Jasmine allowed her shoulders to slump.

"That sounds lovely, but we haven't actually taken any pictures together yet." She paused, her face suddenly lighting up with enthusiasm.

"Oh, wait a minute! Jonny sent me a few that he took the day I met Emma, maybe I could use one of those?" She pulled out her phone, scrolling through her camera roll and scrutinising every image until she found what she was looking for.

"Do you think this would work? I don't think Jac has a copy yet."

Mo moved in for a closer look, heart melting at the sight she was met with. Jonny had captured a precious moment of bonding between the three girls, Jac and Jasmine chasing Emma towards the camera. All three were mid-laughter and wearing huge smiles, and she'd rarely seen the redhead look more content in all the years she'd known her. She felt a swell of emotion at seeing her friend so genuinely happy, and she knew that Jasmine was a major reason for that.

"That's a gorgeous picture," Mo blinked back the tears before the younger woman could notice. "I think it's perfect. She'll love it." Jasmine smiled, the relief evident on her face.

"Thanks, Mo," she replied gratefully. "Sorry for freaking out a bit. I just want it to be special, you know?"

"Of course you do," the brunette reassured her. "And it will be. When are you going to give it to her?"

"I don't know," Jasmine shrugged. "She has the day off tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I think Jonny's taking her and Emma out for the afternoon," Mo nodded.

"Okay, well I'm not working either so I might pop down to hers first thing? If I don't give her any warning then she can't put me off," she joked, causing Mo to laugh.

"True that," she grinned.

As their laughter died down, there was a gentle cough from beside them. Looking up, the two saw the redhead leaning against the doorframe, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?" Jac furrowed her brow as Jasmine looked up guiltily, averting her eyes.

"No, not at all," Mo smiled, shooting Jasmine a warning look that said _act natural!_ as Jac moved across to her desk. "How's Mrs Jones?"

"Stable," the consultant replied, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes briefly. Jasmine still hadn't said a word, a fact that made her highly suspicious. "What are you doing here, anyway? Did you want me?" She looked directly at her sister, who shook her head.

"No, no, I was just passing and Mo collared me for a chat. You know what she's like, especially now she spends most of her time doing baby speak," Jasmine rambled, pushing herself up from the sofa. "I better get off now, anyway, my shift finished ages ago. Thanks again for… you know," she blinked gratefully at Mo as she prepared to make a swift exit. "See you later, Jac."

As she watched Jasmine's back hastily retreat, Jac turned to her friend and narrowed her eyes.

"Why do I get the feeling you're up to something?"

"Oh relax, Jac. I saw her wandering and I thought it'd be nice to talk to someone different for a change, you know I don't get out much with Hector around. Besides, she's a sweet girl," Mo offered. Jac gave a non-committal murmur.

"She said she thinks things are going well with you two," Mo pushed, feeling satisfied when the corner of the redhead's mouth quirked up in agreement.

"It's still early days, Mo," Jac reminded her, trying to conceal her real feelings on the matter.

"I know that," Mo replied patiently. "But hopefully it will keep on getting better."

She couldn't wait for Jac to find out what Jasmine had planned – she hoped it would prove that the younger girl was in it for the long haul, and knew it was a big step for them. _It's about time Jac let other people celebrate her,_ Mo thought. _She deserves it._


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Here's part 2 of Jac's birthday! I must warn you about the angst in this chapter, I usually write mostly fluff but it felt necessary for them to move forward. Not sure when I'll upload next because I haven't written the next part yet and I'm away all weekend, but shouldn't be too long! Hope you enjoy, please review or drop me a message with any comments as always x**

As she reached the end of Jac's road, Jasmine exhaled shakily. She wasn't sure why her nerves were so out of control today, given that she'd been to Jac's house a couple of times now, but this felt different. Perhaps it was the unexpected nature of her visit or the occasion itself – in the back of her mind was a niggling worry that Jac would turn her away, refuse to let her in, especially if she wasn't prepared to see her. But she also knew that if she'd tried to broach the subject of birthdays prior to the day itself the redhead would have shot down the conversation in an instant, so going about it this way seemed like the best option.

Jasmine had almost messaged Jonny to warn him of her plan, but ultimately decided it would be best to keep him in the dark too. Not only did she not want to get him into trouble with Jac, but she also still didn't feel like she knew him well enough to contact him without her sister present, afraid of being too annoying (a habit she was well aware she possessed) and overstepping the boundaries. No, she had to follow her instincts, and turning up on Jac's doorstep to wish her happy birthday was the only way to go about it. There was no turning back now.

 _Chill, Jas,_ she told herself. _You're here now, there's no point in stressing. Hopefully she'll be happy to see you._

Steeling herself, the blonde marched up to the front door and knocked determinedly. After a moment she heard the rattling of keys, and as the door swung open she was relieved to see Jonny standing there.

"Oh, it's you." Jonny shot her a curious yet welcoming smile, before elaborating. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. It's just, Jac didn't say you were coming!"

Jasmine blushed nervously. "That would be because I didn't tell her."

"Ah," he pulled a face, beginning to understand. His eyes flickered over the gift bag clasped tightly in the blonde's hand. "I take it you know what day it is, then?"

"Yep," she replied. "And I know she doesn't like people making a fuss, but I just wanted to do something to show her I care."

Jonny smiled understandingly. "Well, that's lovely of you," he replied. "Why don't you come in? Jac's just getting ready, but Emma's through there if you want to wait for her." He ushered Jasmine down the hallway, unable to resist grinning at the way his daughter's face lit up as she spotted her auntie.

"Auntie Jas!" The little girl hurtled across the room and threw herself into Jasmine's arms, the excitable expression on her face mirroring that of the blonde herself.

"I'll just go and get Jac for you," Jonny chuckled. "I'm sure Emma will keep you occupied in the meantime." Jasmine laughed as Emma shoved a doll in her face, demanding that she play with her.

"Oh, I'm sure she will."

* * *

Jonny pushed open the door to find Jac sat on the edge of the bed, straightening her hair. She jumped at his entrance, turning around with a grimace on her face.

"Jesus, can you warn me next time? I just almost burned myself on these thanks to you," she brandished the tongs like a weapon, pointing them accusatively at Jonny. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Sorry, your highness, next time I'll announce my presence before I enter the room," he replied sarcastically.

"Good," Jac tutted. "For all you know I could've been undressed when you waltzed in here."

"And?" Jonny queried. "It's not like I haven't seen it before."

"That's not the point!" The redhead exclaimed. She moved to face away from him again, returning to the task at hand as he wondered how best to proceed. Somehow, he thought he knew exactly what her reaction to Jasmine's sudden appearance would be, and despite what he'd told the girl he was sure it wouldn't be a positive one.

"What are you still loitering for, anyway?" Jac asked, mildly irritated by his hovering presence. "If you want us to get off on time, then I need to get ready." She had a feeling there was something Jonny wanted to talk to her about, and she already knew she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

Jonny decided to take the plunge before she became even more annoyed. "You have a visitor," he broached the subject gently. With a frustrated sigh, Jac put the tongs down and hauled herself off the bed.

"If it's Sacha or Mo, tell them I'm not interested," she groaned. "They know today is just a normal day to me."

As she made to walk past him, Jonny reached out and placed an arm on her shoulders.

"It's not them," he continued. "It's Jasmine." He felt Jac stiffen underneath his touch.

"What?" She was momentarily caught off-guard. "It can't be, she doesn't even know it's my birthday. I didn't tell her."

"There are other ways of knowing, Jac," Jonny reminded her, as she shrugged his hands off. A sudden realisation hit her, and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"This is Maureen's doing," the redhead grumbled. "I _knew_ they were up to something yesterday! I can't believe she'd go behind my back like this, today of all days. I thought she knew how I felt about it." She massaged her neck angrily, preparing to go and face her sister.

"Look, you at least need to talk to Jasmine and let her explain. She's come all this way, Jac, it's not fair to just turn her away."

"I didn't ask her to come," Jac retorted. Despite her protestations, she knew she had no choice but to face her sister, but she wasn't happy about it.

"Jac," Jonny said gently, pulling her into his embrace. "You know it's the right thing to do. She doesn't know why your birthday holds such bad memories, she just wants to see her sister. Don't take it out on her."

She allowed herself to melt into his embrace briefly, reluctantly accepting his words. "Fine," she sighed. "I'll see her. But I'm not promising anything."

"All I ask is that you hear her out," Jonny kissed the side of her head softly, before releasing her. Nodding, Jac made her way downstairs, willing the conflicted emotions stirring inside her to stay hidden. She didn't want Jasmine to know just why she hated birthdays so much, but now she had no choice but to confront her.

* * *

Jac walked into the living room to find her sister and daughter sprawled in the middle of the floor, having an in-depth conversation through the dolls clutched in their hands. As she approached, Jasmine sat up eagerly, clambering to her feet until she stood meters away from her sister.

"What are you doing here?" Jac spoke more bluntly than she'd intended to, brushing away the pang of regret that hit her at the disappointed expression that passed across the young woman's face despite her best attempt to conceal it.

"I, er, brought you a present. Happy birthday!" Jasmine smiled nervously, stretching her arm out to offer Jac the gift. However, the redhead ignored her.

"I don't do birthdays. Mo knows that. She had no right to tell you." Being confronted by her sister on a day of such turbulent memories had caused the Naylor defence mechanisms to spring straight back up, in a way they hadn't since the two had started growing closer. Jasmine stepped back, affronted by the hard note in Jac's voice.

"Mo? She didn't tell me, I already knew. I've known for years, Jac! I asked her to help me with what to get you, but that's all," she replied confusedly.

"Well in that case, _you_ have no right to be here. My birthday is nothing to do with you," the older woman continued to lash out, momentarily forgetting that Emma was in the room too until a little voice spoke up.

"Mummy, why are you being mean to Auntie Jas?"

Jac's grasp on her emotions was slipping fast. All she could think about was that she needed to get Emma out of the way before she lost it completely in front of her daughter. Turning away from Jasmine, she gestured for Emma to leave the room.

"Emma, go and play upstairs please." The little girl didn't move, causing Jac to raise her eyebrows at her.

"Now."

Emma seemed to understand that when Mummy raised her voice, she wasn't to argue back and at this she fled, leaving the two women alone. Jasmine was beginning to lose her cool by this point too – what business did Jac have treating her so badly over a simple gesture of goodwill?

"I don't get it," she shook her head. "Why are you making such a big deal of this? I just wanted to bring you a birthday present, seeing as this is the first time I've actually been in your life for it. I don't see what's so awful about that."

"I already _told_ you," Jac growled, "I don't _do_ birthdays." Jasmine flung her hands up in frustration.

"But _why,_ Jac?" she exclaimed. "Why can't you just be normal, and be happy that your sister wants to celebrate with you?"

It was this that tipped Jac over the edge, any composure she'd managed to retain slipping swiftly out of her grasp.

"Oh, I don't know, Jasmine. How about the fact that not once in the twelve years I was with Paula did I ever get a proper birthday present, because she'd rather spend the money on god knows what? How about the fact I spent every birthday until I was 13 alone, because nobody cared enough to even acknowledge my existence? How about the fact that on this very day nine years ago, the mother who'd abandoned me twenty years earlier wormed her way back into my life, and convinced me she regretted giving me up? The same women who told me she was dying, convinced me to give her my kidney, and then ran off again the same day without so much as a goodbye because she still didn't care even a tiny bit about me? Tell me, Jasmine, exactly how am I supposed to be happy about my birthday when all I can think about is the years of pain and loneliness I suffered through because of her?"

As she continued ranting, Jac's voice had become progressively louder and angrier, to the point where Jasmine had moved away from her in fear. The look of sympathy and pity mingled with rejection on her face was almost too much for the redhead to bear.

"I'm sorry, Jac," Jasmine's voice quivered as she spoke. "I didn't know any of that. I just-"

"Of course you didn't!" Jac roared. "Because you don't know anything about me, Jasmine! No matter how much you try to convince yourself, you'll never get it!"

Tears pooled in the blonde's eyes. "I should never have come here," she whispered angrily.

"No, you shouldn't," the older woman snapped. "So why don't you just-"

"That is _enough_."

The two had been so caught up in their argument they hadn't noticed Jonny appear in the doorway until then. His eyes fixed angrily on Jac, daring her to continue.

"Our little girl is upstairs trying to understand why her mum and auntie are having a slanging match, and I'm not having it. This ends now."

As the words left his mouth, he could see the anger draining from Jac's body, replaced with despair and regret. Jasmine, on the other hand, was shaking with barely suppressed sobs, evidently shaken by the unexpected fury she'd been on the receiving end of. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jonny held up his hand.

"Not now, Jasmine," he told her gently. "Why don't you go and make us all a nice cup of tea while I talk to Jac? Nobody is going anywhere until this is sorted."

Jasmine continued to sniffle but took his advice and left the living room, shooting one last sorrowful glance at her sister. Satisfied that she would be okay, Jonny turned to the redhead, not expecting to be met with the sight he got. Silent tears were running down Jac's face as she met his gaze sorrowfully, causing his heart to clench. As much as he disagreed with her actions, he understood why she'd exploded so furiously and it broke his heart to see her so upset.

"Jac," he breathed sadly. "Come here. I think we need to talk, don't you?"

She gave no indication that she'd even heard him, but allowed herself to be led up the stairs, leaving Jasmine alone in the kitchen with her thoughts. All she'd wanted was to do something nice for Jac, but it seemed she couldn't even do that without messing up.

 _Why is this so hard?_ she thought to herself. _This is all my fault, I've ruined her birthday again. Just like Paula used to._

With this, a fresh wave of tears washed over her. As the kettle boiled, masking her sobs, she allowed herself to let it all out. She hated this, not knowing where she stood or how they'd ever be able to move past the destruction Paula had brought about so many years previously. She just wanted to be the kind of sister Jac deserved.


End file.
